Vertebrate kidney, Biology

Assignment Help:

Vertebrate Kidney

Typically, all vertebrates have a pair of kidneys, which function on the filtration - reabsorption - secretion principle. Only in a few teleost fishes, the kidney is aglomerular (without a glomerulus) and functions on the absorption - reabsorption - secretion principle as in the malpighian tubules of insects. The functional unit of the vertebrate kidney is the nephron or the uriniferous tubule. A small fish may have only a few dozen nephrons in its kidneys; a large mammal may have several million.  A mammalis nephron begins with the renal corpuscle or the Malpighian body which consists of a double-walled cup, the Bowman's capsule, enclosing a knot of blood capillaries called glomeplus.

359_Vertebrate Kidney.png

Figure:  Schematic diagram of mammalian kidney and nephoron

Blood is brought to the kidney by the renal artery which branches and sub-branches into interloper arteries and finally into the afferent arteriole which gives rise to the capillary network of the glomerulus. An efferent arteriole formed by the confluence of the capillaries takes blood away from the Bowman's capsule. The Bowman's capsule latter continues into a long convoluted tubule which is distinguished into the proximal and distal convoluted tubules respectively. The distal convoluted tubules from different nephorons join to form the collecting tubule which carry the urine into the renal pelvis from where the ureter starts. The proximal and distal tubules are present in all vertebrates, but in birds and mammals a new U-shaped hair-pin-like segment called Henle's loop is present between proximal and the distal tubules. In the following section we shall study structural variations in the vertebrate kidney.


Related Discussions:- Vertebrate kidney

Chemical reactions which are catalysed by enzymes, Give two examples of che...

Give two examples of chemical reactions which are catalysed by enzymes in the course of brewing.  In the course of brewing, enzymes in the grain catalyse the conversion of star

What do you mean by systematic zoology, Q. What do you mean by Systematic Z...

Q. What do you mean by Systematic Zoology ? It contains articles on animals systematic, and papers dealing with cytological attributes of species and higher taxa, distribution p

Define the post-herbal period, Define the Post-Herbal Period? It is di...

Define the Post-Herbal Period? It is difficult to draw a sharp line of demarcation between the transition period, marked by various attempts of classification, all of which we

State the medial pterygoid, Medial pterygoid Muscle bounds the pterygom...

Medial pterygoid Muscle bounds the pterygomandibular space medially which is entered when an inferior alveolar nerve block is administered. Infection of this space is dangerous

What vector foce does particle b then exert on a, A charged particle A exer...

A charged particle A exerts a force of 2.39uN to the right on charged particle B when the particles are 12.3 mm apart. Particle B moves straight away from A to make the distance be

What is eutrophication in ecology explain briefly, What is Eutrophication i...

What is Eutrophication in ecology explain briefly? Freshwater ecosystems demonstrate the close relationship between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Until recently, most peo

Anterior interventricular - artery, The arterial supply is  by the right an...

The arterial supply is  by the right and left coronary arteries. In the event of sudden block of one artery the area of myocardium supplied by that artery undergoes infarction.

What is the tertiary structure of a protein, The tertiary protein structure...

The tertiary protein structure is a spatial conformation additional to the secondary structure in which the alpha helix or the beta-sheet folds up itself. The forces that stay the

What is the water cycle, Q. What is the water cycle? The water cycle re...

Q. What is the water cycle? The water cycle represents the recycling and circulation of water in nature. The Liquid water on the planet surface is heated by the sun and turns i

Mechanical valves, Mechanical Valves They are made of a combination o...

Mechanical Valves They are made of a combination of metal alloys, pyrolite carbon and dacron. Types of Mechanical Valves Caged-ball Valve (Star-Edwards) A me

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd