Anatomy
It can be divided into five parts:
- Thin descending limb of loop of Henle
- The thin descending limb has low permeability to ions and urea, while being highly permeable to water. The loop has a sharp bend in the renal medulla going from descending to ascending thin limb.
- Thin ascending limb of loop of Henle
- The thin ascending limb is not permeable to water, but it is permeable to ions.
- Thick ascending limb of loop of Henle
- Sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and chloride (Cl-) ions are reabsorbed from the urine by secondary active transport by the Na-K-2Cl symporter (NKCC2). The electrical and concentration gradient drives more reabsorption of Na+, as well as other cations such as magnesium (Mg2+) and importantly calcium (Ca2+).
- Cortical thick ascending limb—The cortical thick ascending limb drains urine into the distal convoluted tubule.
Read more about this topic: Loop Of Henle
Famous quotes containing the word anatomy:
“Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I love to see, when leaves depart,
The clear anatomy arrive,”
—Roy Campbell (1902–1957)
“But a man must keep an eye on his servants, if he would not have them rule him. Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world. But it is found that the machine unmans the user. What he gains in making cloth, he loses in general power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)