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The collecting duct system of the kidney consists of a series of tubules and ducts that physically connect nephrons to a minor calyx or directly to the renal pelvis.The collecting duct participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone).
The collecting duct system begins in the renal cortex and extends deep into the medulla. As the urine travels down the collecting duct system, it passes by the medullary interstitium which has a high sodium concentration as a result of the loop of Henle's countercurrent multiplier system. [1]: 67
The collecting ducts descend again into the medulla and fuse to wider collecting ducts, which pass through the inner medulla. [ 68 ] [ 69 ] Based on the location of the renal corpuscle in the cortex, nephrons are classified into 3 types: superficial (closer to the renal capsule), midcortical (in the middle part of the cortex) and juxtamedullary ...
The DCT is lined with simple cuboidal cells, the distal convoluted tubule cells, that are shorter than those of the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT). The lumen appears larger in the PCT than the DCT lumen because the PCT has a brush border (microvilli).
To achieve such balance between water and ions, the loop of Henle coordinates its function with the collecting duct to regulate the amount of water to reabsorb or to excrete. While the loop of Henle makes the medulla of the kidney salty, the collecting duct regulates the permeability of water that could be reabsorbed to such salty environment.
The mammalian kidneys combine both nephrons with a short and nephrons with a long loop of Henle. [77] The medulla is divided into outer and inner regions. The outer region consists of short loops of Henle and collecting ducts, and the inner region consists of long loops of Henle and collecting ducts. [28]
The epithelium of the Thick segment is low simple cuboidal epithelium. The epithelium of the Thin segment is simple squamous. [4]They can be distinguished from the vasa recta by the absence of blood, and they can be distinguished from the thick ascending limb by the thickness of the epithelium.
This illustration demonstrates the normal kidney physiology, including the Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT), Loop of Henle, and Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT). It also includes illustrations showing where some types of diuretics act, and what they do. Renal physiology (Latin renes, "kidneys") is the study of the physiology of the kidney.