HSC 215 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Osmotic Concentration, Erythropoietin, Renin
Document Summary
Main kidney functions: primarily responsible for maintaining stability of ecf volume, electrolyte composition, and osmolarity, main route for eliminating potentially toxic metabolic wastes and foreign compounds from the body. Overview of kidney functions: functioning unit of kidney; nephron. Maintain proper osmolarity of body fluids, primarily through regulating h2o balance. Regulate the quantity and concentration of most ecf ions. Help maintain proper acid-base balance in the body. Excreting (eliminating) the end products (wastes) of bodily metabolism. 3 processes of urine formation: glomerular filtration. Urine results from these three processes: filtration-occurs in the glomerulus. More permeable to water and solutes than capillaries elsewhere in the body. Filtrate is forced by hydrostatic pressure from glomerulus into capsule. Glomerular capillary blood pressure can be controlled to adjust gfr to suit the body"s needs. Tubular reabsorption: involves the transfer of substances from tubular lumen into peritubular capillaries or back to the blood . Highly selective and variable process: na reabsorption.
