Describe the structure of nephron.
Structure of nephron A nephron has two parts-the glomerulus and the renal tubule (i) Glomerulus: It is a tuft of capillaries formed by the afferent arteriole, which is a fine branch of the renal artery. (ii) Renal tubule has three-part (a) proximal convoluted tubule (b) loop of Henle (c) distal convoluted tubule (a) Proximal convoluted tubule – The renal tubule is closed at the proximal, end; it is expanded and curved inwardly. form a double-walled cup-shaped structure called Bowman’s capsule. The glomerulus is located in the hollow of the Bowman’s capsule and together they constitute the renal corpuscle. The lumen of the capsule is continuous with the narrow lumen of the entire tubule. The tubule continues to form a highly convoluted proximal convoluted tubule (PCT). (b) Loop of Henle – It arises from the end of the proximal convoluted tubule and ends at the starting of the distal tubule. It is hairpin-like, with a descending limb (that extends into the medulla) and an ascending limb, that crosses back to the cortex. (c) Distal convoluted tubule – The ascending limb, on entering the cortex becomes the distal convoluted tubule. It then continues as a short straight collecting tubule, that joins the collecting duct. Each collecting duct receives the collecting tubule of a number of nephrons. Many collects converge, ran through renal pyramids, and open into the renal pelvis through the openings called renal papillae, at the tip of pyramids.
