the general process by which animals control solute concentrations and balance water gain and loss
osmoconformer
an animal that's isoosmotic with its surroundings; marine vertebrates: drink a lot of salt water and then use gills and kidneys to remove it from their system
osmoregulator
controls its internal osmolarity independent of that of its environment; ex: freshwater animals, drink almost no water and excrete large amounts of dilute urine
filtration
excretory tubule collects a filtrate from the blood; water and solutes are forced by blood pressure across the selectively permeable membranes of a cluster of capillaries and into the excretory tubule
reabsorption
the transport epithelium reclaims valuable substances from the filtrate and returns them to the body fluids; occurs most in the proximal tubule
secretion
other substances, such as toxins and excess ions, are extracted from body fluids and added to the contents of the excretory tubules
excretion
the altered filtrate (urine) leaves the system and the body
kidneys are supplied with blood from the _____ ______ and drained by the _____ ____
renal artery; renal vein
nephron
functional unit of the kidney; consists of a single long tubule and a ball of capillaries called the glomerulus (surrounded by bowman's capsule)
capillaries of bowman's capsule are permeable to:
water and small solutes (ex: salts, glucose, amino acids, vitamins, nitrogenous wastes, & other small molecules) but NOT to blood cells or large molecules like plasma proteins
juxtamedullary nephrons
have loops of Henle that descend deeplu into renal medulla; enable mammals to produce urine that is hyperosmotic to body fluids
peritubular capillaries
blood vessels that surround the afferent and efferent arterioles of the nephron
vasa recta
blood vessels that surroud the loop of Henle in the nephron; each ascending portion lies adjacent to the descending portion of the loop of Henle; there is no direct exchange between the two
Type 1 diabetes
results from the body's failure to produce insulin; insulin PROMOTES uptake of glucose, so if there's a failure to produce there will be a lot of glucose in the blood (= hyperglycemia)
Type 2 diabetes
results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly
ADH (vassopresin/antidiuretic hormone)
incrases absorption of water by increasing the number of aquaporins molecules in distal tubules and collecting ducts; released in response to salti/solutiness (increased osmolarity); makes their epithelium MORE permeable to water; made by the hypothalamus but STORED in the posterior pituitary; controlled by negative feedback
diuresis
increased urination/diluteness of the urine; ADH is called the antidiuretic hormone because it opposes this dilute state