nephron
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Credit: NIH
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The microscopic unit of the kidney consisting
of a glomerulus (a filtering funnel consisting of a cluster
of tiny blood capillaries) cupped in a structure called a Bowman's
capsule, with an attached long, narrow tubule. There are about
one million nephrons in each kidney. Blood
enters the kidney under pressure, and water and wastes are forced ito the
tubule by a process known as ultrafiltration. Some water, salts, and other
essential molecules are reabsorbed into the bloodstream; the remaining filtrate,
urine, is passed to the bladder
for excretion from the body.
Related category
• ANATOMY
AND PHYSIOLOGY
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