Urinary System

Histology Renal/Respiratory Block SP17

A. System Functions and Components
The functions of the urinary system are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Produce, store, and void urine

Synthesize & release certain hormones
Regulate blood pressure & fluid volume of the body
Regulate acid-base balance

The urinary system is composed of:

1. Two highly vascularized kidneys
a. Regulate and maintain composition and volume of extracellular fluid
b. Endocrine organ that synthesizes and secretes
2. Two ureters
a. Move urine to the bladder
3. Bladder
a. Reservoir for urine
4. Urethra

B. The Kidney
Kidney Functions
Kidney functions are divided as endocrine and exocrine

Endocrine
o Erythropoietin (EPO): synthesized & secreted to regulate RBC formation in
response to decreased blood oxygen levels.
o Renin: synthesized & secreted to control blood pressure and blood volume
o 25-OH vitamin D3: hydroxylation of this steroid precursor to calcitriol occurs in
the proximal tubules.
Measured to determine a patients Vitamin
D status.
Calcitriol is the active form of Vitamin D
Regulated by PTH
Exocrine urine production

Kidney Structure
The capsule is the connective tissue surrounding the kidney
surface

The outer layer consists of fibroblasts and collagen

The inner layer consists of myofibroblasts
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The lobe is a medullary pyramid with associated cortical tissue at base and sides

A lobule is a medullary ray with associated cortical tissue

The cortex is the layer adjacent to the capsule that

is an outer reddish-brown, containing:

Renal corpuscles with associated

convoluted and straight tubules of the
nephron
Collecting tubules and ducts
Medullary rays, which are aggregations of
straight tubules and collecting ducts
Blood vessels and associated renal
interstitium

The medulla comprises the early portions of the urinary collecting system

Straight tubule of nephron that continues from cortex into the medulla
The capillary network surrounding is the vasa recta
Renal columns contain similar tissue as cortex but part of
medulla, between the medullary pyramids

The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney

Consists of renal corpuscle and a tubule system

o The renal corpuscle is glomerulus and renal capsule
Produces urine
Nephron and collecting tubules do not arise from a single epithelial growth
o Separate primordia become connected

General Nephron Organization

The primary filtering component of the nephron,

the renal corpuscle, is ultrafiltrate and is
composed of two distinct functional units:
1. The glomerulus is a tuft of capillaries
a. A collection of dilated capillaries
with fenestrated endothelium,
which emerge from the afferent
arteriole and drain into the efferent
arteriole
2. Bowmans capsule
a. A double-walled epithelial capsule
(visceral and parietal) that wraps
around the glomerular capillaries
b. Location where blood is filtered
The tubule system contains:

Proximal thick segment, a thin segment,

and a distal thick segment

Renal Corpuscle
The filtration unit
components are:
1. Endothelium of
Glomerular
Capillaries
a. Fenestrae
restrict
movement
of blood
cells
b. Allows
movement
of H2O
2. Glomerular Basement Membrane (***Goodpasture Syndrome)
a. Physical barrier & ion-selective filter
3. Visceral Layer of Bowmans Capsule
a. Extends around glomerular capillaries
b. Contains podocytes with pedicels that allow ultrafiltrate to pass into urinary space

Renal Corpuscle
Blood Flow through the Renal Corpuscle

Cortical v Juxtamedullary Nephrons

Most of the kidneys nephrons are located in the renal cortex (cortical nephrons).

Have short, thin descending limb and do not have a thin ascending limb.
Do not extend into the medulla

However, the glomerulus of some nephrons is located near the junction of the cortex and the
medulla, referred to as juxtamedullary nephrons.

Central to filtration, absorption, and secretion of urine.

Via exceptionally long Loops of Henle, they establish the hypertonic gradient in the
kidney (regulates production of concentrated urine)
The loops extend deep into the medulla and consist of a short thick descending limb, a
long thin descending limb, a long thin ascending limb, and a short thick ascending limb

Juxtaglomerular Apparatus
The juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA) functions as an endocrine organ by secreting renin to
ultimately control blood pressure.

Located at the vascular pole of a nephron

Consists of:
o Macula densa, which is a cluster of modified cells in the wall of the distal
convoluted tubule adjacent to the juxtaglomerular cells
Important in monitoring Na+ concentration
o Juxtaglomerular cells, which are modified smooth muscle cells in the wall of
afferent arterioles that can produce renin and release it from granules
o Extraglomerular mesangial cells (lacis cells)
Contractile cells with receptors for AgII and natriuretic factor, enabling
them to regulate glomerular flow

Intraglomerular
mesangial cells are
specialized pericytes within
glomerular capillaries

Regulate blood
flow, contribute to
the ECM, and have
phagocytic
function

The Tubule System of a Nephron

The purpose of the tubule system is to modify ultrafiltrate.

H2O, Na+, bicarbonate, and glucose are reabsorbed

Creatinine and organic acids and bases are added

Urine is made hyperosmotic accomplished by the loops of Henle and the collecting tubules
that pass parallel to one another.
The renal tubular system is divided into several functional units:
1. Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT)
a. Receives ultrafiltrate from Bowmans capsule
i. Reabsorbs 65% of ultrafiltrate
ii. Sodium-Potassium pumps are transmembrane proteins in the lateral folds
of the plasma membrane
iii. AQP-1 small transmembrane protein acts as a water channel
1. Doesnt require high energy
iv. Reabsorbs amino acids, sugars, polypeptides (large and small) via
glycocalyx of microvilli
v. pH of ultrafiltrate is changed in the PCT
b. Contain a microvilli brush border
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c. Junctional complexes, plicae, interdigitations of basal processes, and basal

striations
d. Location for hydroxylation of 25-OH vitamin D3
e. The Major Location for Reabsorption
2. Loop of Henle
a. Proximal straight tubule that transports ions to interstitium (via the thick
descending limb)
b. The thin segment contains types I-IV epithelial cells
i. When ultrafiltrate enters it is isosmotic; when it leaves, it is hyposmotic
because salts are reabsorbed
ii. The descending limb is highly permeable to H2O, so it diffuses out (no
active transport of ions in this part)
iii. The ascending limb is highly permeable to NaCl and impermeable to H2O,
thus increasing salt concentration in the interstitium.
c. The distal straight tubule actively transports ions to the interstitium (thick
ascending limb of loop)
i. Movement of ions to the interstitium occurs without the movement of
H2O.
d. Additional:
i. The thin descending limb is impermeable to Na+ but allows passive
reabsorption of water
ii. The thick ascending limb is impermeable to water but actively pumps
out Na+ (reabsorbs Na+)
3. Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT)
a. Reabsorbs Na+ and Bicarbonate
b. Secretes K+, H+, and ammonium
c. No brush border, less eosinophilic than the PCT
d. Indirectly regulated by aldosterone to adjust blood volume and pressure
e. Considered a diluting segment because it is impermeable to H2O but actively
reabsorbs Na+.
4. Collecting Tubules and Ducts
a. Simple squamous / cuboidal epithelium that transitions to short columnar as the
ducts increase in size
b. Can be distinguished by cell boundaries not found as readily in the proximal and
distal tubules and convex apical region
i. Light cells are responsible for water permeability and are responsive to
ADH / aldosterone
ii. Dark cells are involved in secretion of H+ or bicarbonate depending on
what the kidney needs
1. The -intercalated cells secrete H+ ions
2. The -intercalated cells secrete bicarbonate
c. Collection ducts have papillary ducts that project into the minor calyx
i. The area cribrosa is the area that contains the openings of the papillary
duct

Interstitial Cells (Connective Tissue)

Cortex

Macrophages
Fibroblast-like cells secrete ECM

Medulla

Myofibroblast-like cells may aid in compressing tubule structures

During chronic inflammation or persistent injury, connective tissue synthesizes extensive ECM
that substantially alters that architecture of the kidney

Countercurrent Multiplier System

The loop of Henle is a multiplier

o Vasa recta helps exchange water and solutes
The collecting duct is the osmotic equibrilating device
Three structures work together to excrete hyperosmotic urine

C. The Ureters and Bladder

General Information
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The excretory passages have a general organization:

The mucosa is a barrier to separate lumen from the rest of the body
o Epithelia and lamina propria of loose CT
The muscularis is the smooth muscle that contributes peristaltic contractions
The serosa is the covering of mesothelium supported by thin CT to suspend the tube
The adventitia is the CT that is continuous with adjacent CT

Ureters
The ureters move urine from the kidney to the bladder

The mucosa is lined by transitional epithelia (impermeable to H2O and salts) and contains
a fibroelastic lamina propria
The muscularis contains 2-3 layers of smooth muscle
The adventitia has few areas of serosa

Bladder
The bladder stores urine until nervous stimulation initiates contraction to empty

The mucosa is lined by transitional epithelia with a connective tissue lamina propria
The muscular contains 3 smooth muscle layers
Adventitia

Contains three openings

Two for ureters and one for the urethra

Innervated by autonomic nervous system
o Sympathetic innervation is responsible for relaxation of bladder tone and
contraction of the internal urethral sphincter
o Parasympathetic innervation is responsible for bladder contraction and emptying.

Urethra
The urethra is a fibromuscular tube that moves urine out of the body

The male urethra can be as long as 20cm with 3 distinct segments

o The female urethra is shorter
Both contain small urethral glands in the lamina propria to produce alkaline secretion
Typically crescent shaped or U-shaped

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