The kidney contains 1 - 4 million nephrons.
The nephron is the functional unit of filtration.
Each nephron has 4 main parts:
1. Renal Corpuscle, which can be further divided into a glomerulus and a Bowman's capsule
2. Proximal Tubule
3. Loop of Henle, with thin and thick limbs
A nephron and the collecting duct which drains it are collectively called a uriniferous tubule.
The ascending loop of Henle continues as the distal tubule, which is followed by the distal convoluted tubule.
The distal tubule cells are simple cuboidal cells.
They are generally much less eosinophilic than proximal tubule cells.
Also, the lumen is not star shaped.
The cells are smaller and flatter than proximal tubule cells so distal tubule cross sections appear to have larger lumens and more nuclei.
The nuclei of distal tubule cells are more apical than those of the proximal tubule, and distal tubule nuclei often appear to bulge into the lumen.
Because these cells contain no glycocalyx, no debris is visualized in the lumen. This micrograph illustrates some of these contrasting features of the distal and proximal tubules-- note that the distal tubule cells are flatter, the lumen is not star-shaped, there is no glycocalyx and no debris in the lumen.
The nephron is the functional unit of filtration.
Each nephron has 4 main parts:
1. Renal Corpuscle, which can be further divided into a glomerulus and a Bowman's capsule
2. Proximal Tubule
3. Loop of Henle, with thin and thick limbs
4. Distal Tubule
From the distal convoluted tubule, the filtrate flows into a collecting duct.A nephron and the collecting duct which drains it are collectively called a uriniferous tubule.
The ascending loop of Henle continues as the distal tubule, which is followed by the distal convoluted tubule.
The distal tubule cells are simple cuboidal cells.
They are generally much less eosinophilic than proximal tubule cells.
Also, the lumen is not star shaped.
The cells are smaller and flatter than proximal tubule cells so distal tubule cross sections appear to have larger lumens and more nuclei.
The nuclei of distal tubule cells are more apical than those of the proximal tubule, and distal tubule nuclei often appear to bulge into the lumen.
Because these cells contain no glycocalyx, no debris is visualized in the lumen. This micrograph illustrates some of these contrasting features of the distal and proximal tubules-- note that the distal tubule cells are flatter, the lumen is not star-shaped, there is no glycocalyx and no debris in the lumen.
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