Processes behind urine formation
This article is in continuation to the previous articles that focused the excretory system of living beings and the functioning of nephron. In this article, we will discuss how urine is formed. Urine formation Urine formation involves three main processes namely, glomerular filtration, reabsorption and secretion, that takes place in different parts of the nephron. […]
This article is in continuation to the previous articles that focused the excretory system of living beings and the functioning of nephron. In this article, we will discuss how urine is formed.
Urine formation
Urine formation involves three main processes namely, glomerular filtration, reabsorption and secretion, that takes place in different parts of the nephron.
Glomerular filtration
• The first step in urine formation is the filtration of blood, which is carried out by the glomerulus and is called glomerular filtration.
• On an average, 1100-1200 ml of blood is filtered by the kidneys per minute which constitutes roughly 1/5th of the blood pumped out by each ventricle of the heart in a minute.
• The glomerular capillary blood pressure causes filtration of blood through 3 layers, i.e., the endothelium of glomerular blood vessels, the epithelium of Bowman’s capsule and a basement membrane between these two layers.
• The epithelial cells of Bowman’s capsule called podocytes are arranged in an intricate manner so as to leave some minute spaces called filtration slits or slit pores.
• Blood is filtered so finely through these membranes, that almost all the constituents of the plasma except the proteins pass onto the lumen of the Bowman’s capsule. Therefore, it is considered as a process of ultra-filtration.
• The amount of the filtrate formed by the kidneys per minute is called glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
• GFR in a healthy individual is approximately 125 ml/minute, i.e., 180 litres per day.
• The kidneys have built-in mechanisms for the regulation of glomerular filtration rate.
• One such efficient mechanism is carried out by juxta glomerular apparatus (JGA).
• JGA is a special sensitive region formed by cellular modifications in the distal convoluted tubule and the afferent arteriole at the location of their contact.
• A fall in GFR can activate the JG cells to release renin which can stimulate the glomerular blood flow and thereby the GFR back to normal.
Reabsorption
• A comparison of the volume of the filtrate formed per day (180 litres per day) with that of the urine released (1.5 litres), suggests that nearly 99 per cent of the filtrate has to be reabsorbed by the renal tubules. This process is called reabsorption.
• The tubular epithelial cells in different segments of nephron perform this either by active or passive mechanisms. For example, substances like glucose, amino acids, Na , etc., in the filtrate are reabsorbed actively whereas the nitrogenous wastes are absorbed by passive transport. Reabsorption of water also occurs passively in the initial segments of the nephron.
• During urine formation, the tubular cells secrete substances like H , K and ammonia into the filtrate. Tubular secretion is also an important step in urine formation as it helps in the maintenance of ionic and acid base balance of body fluids.
