License Image The urinary system is composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Blood from the heart travels down the aorta where it enters the kidney via the renal arteries. The kidney acts as a filter and regulator, removing waste products (urea) and balancing glucose, electrolytes (salt, potassium and other minerals) and water levels […]
kidney
Kidney Anatomy External
License Image The renal artery, renal vein and ureter enter the kidney via the hilus. The kidney and it’s vessels are embedded in a mass of fatty tissue called the perirenal fat which extends into a central cavity, the renal sinus.
Kidney Anatomy Internal
License Image The kidney is composed of an inner medulla and an outer cortex surrounded by a tough fibrous capsule. The medulla is composed of a series of conical masses called the renal pyramids. The apex of these pyramids form a papilla which projects into the lumen of the minor calyces. The cortex extends between […]
Renal Blood Vessels
License Image The renal cortex and medulla contain a complex network of blood vessels. The interlobar arteries which pass between the renal pyramids, arch around the base of the pyramid as the arcuate arteries. These give off a series of branches which enter the cortex as interlobular arterioles. From these arterioles branch the afferent arterioles. […]
Renal Hypertension
License Image Advanced (malignant) Renal Hypertension with arteriolar nephrosclerosis Most people with mild hypertension (benign) have some degree of arteriolar sclerosis (hardening and thickening) of the small arterioles and glomerular capillaries in the cortex of the kidney. When hypertension is severe (malignant) the sclerosis worsens causing destruction of the small vessels, ischemia and fibrosis of […]
Renovascular Hypertension
License Image Malignant hypertension caused by renovascular disease. The renal artery is narrowed by atherosclerotic plaque causing an elevation in blood pressure. The increased pressure damages the walls of the small arterioles and glomerular capillaries in the cortex. The vessels rupture causing hemorrhage and infarction (scarring). The granular surface of the kidney indicates atrophy and […]
Atherosclerosis of the Renal Artery
License Image Arteries are comprised of three layers: the internal intima, the muscular media, and the external fibrous adventitia. Lipid deposited in the intima of a blood vessel forms an arteriosclerotic plaque which may also exhibit fibrosis and calcification (hardening of the arteries). Severe atherosclerosis leads to narrowing of the artery, and in the renal […]
