Anatomy A215 Virtual Microscopy
Kidney
 
 

The basic unit of structure and function of the kidney is the nephron.The nephron consists of a filtering unit (the “renal corpuscle”) and a tubular portion that modifies the glomerular filtrate. There are over one million nephrons in each kidney, and it is the arrangement of the nephrons that gives the organ a cortex and a medulla.
 

In this virtual slide of KIDNEY you should be able to identify
  • The outer region or renal cortex, containing many small, round renal corpuscles, much of the tubule system, and blood vessels.
  • The renal medulla, the region internal to the cortex that contains parallel tubules (nephron loops, collecting tubules and collecting ducts) and blood vessels, their shape on your slide depending on how they’re sectioned. The absence of renal corpuscles distinguishes the medulla.
  • Click for a detailed image of a glomerulus.
  • Click for a detailed image of nephron loops.
 
Virtual Microscopy Table of Contents