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The thick descending limb is less important than the thin descending limb, so often the terms "descending limb" and "thin descending limb" are used interchangeably. Some sources simply refer to a "thin limb". In this context, the thin ascending limb of loop of Henle would be included.
The loop of Henle is always a U-shaped tubule, with a descending limb and an ascending limb, however its length varies among different vertebrates. This is associated with the fact that it has two functions; whilst the first is to clean wastes, the second is to maintain a balance between ions and H 2 O.
The descending limb of the loop of Henle is permeable to water but impermeable to solutes, due to the presence of aquaporin 1 in its tubular wall. Thus, water moves across the tubular wall into the medullary space, making the filtrate hypertonic (with a lower water potential). This is the filtrate that continues to the ascending limb. [2]
The ascending limb of the loop of Henle is a direct continuation from the descending limb of loop of Henle, and one of the structures in the nephron of the kidney. The ascending limb has a thin and a thick segment. The ascending limb drains urine into the distal convoluted tubule.
In the kidney, the macula densa is an area of closely packed specialized cells lining the wall of the distal tubule where it touches the glomerulus.Specifically, the macula densa is found in the terminal portion of the distal straight tubule (thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle), after which the distal convoluted tubule begins.
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.
It reaches the level of the renal medulla where the thin descending limb of loop of Henle borders with the thick ascending limb of loop of Henle [4]: 837 The inner segment is the part of the collecting duct system between the outer segment and the papillary ducts.
AQP-1 is a widely expressed water channel, whose physiological function has been most thoroughly characterized in the kidney. It is found in the basolateral and apical plasma membranes of the proximal tubules, the descending limb of the loop of Henle, and in the descending portion of the vasa recta.