Title: Nephron: What is the Structure and its Functions of Nephron?
Headings: What is the Structure of Nephron and its Functions?
What is the Structure of Nephron and its Functions?
Table of Contents
What are the t ypes of Nephrons?
1. The Superficial Nephrons
2. The Juxta-Medullary Nephrons
What is the Structure of Nephron?
1. Glomerulus
2. Bowman’s Capsule
a. Parietal layer
b. Visceral layer
3. Renal tubule
a. First (or) Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT)
b. Henle’s Loop (Paras recta)
i) Descending limb
ii) Thin-walled ascending limb
c. Distal (or) Secondary convoluted Tubule (DCT)
4. Collecting tubule
a. P-Cells
b. I-Cells

Content: Glomerulus
The glomerulus is about 200µm in diameter. It is formed by the invagination of a tuft of capillaries into dilated. Blind end of the nephron, the capillaries are supplied by an “ Afferent arteriole ” and drained by a smaller “ Efferent arteriole ”. The afferent arteriole breaks up into about fifty capillary loops and forms the glomerular tuft which lies within bowman’s capsule, a double-walled epithelial sac. Each nephron starts with a tuft of 6 to 8 renal blood capillaries investigated into the end of a tubule. This structure is named “Glomerulus”. Mesangial cells are common between two neighboring capillaries, and in these locations, the base membrane forms a sheath shared by both capillaries. The cells are contractile and play a role in regulating “ Glomerular filtration ”. They also secrete various substances, take up “ Immune complexes ”, and are involved in the production of glomerular disease. The glomerular membrane permits the free passage of neutral substances up to 4 nm in diameter and almost excludes those with diameters greater than 8nm.