Nephron structure and renal blood flow
What each nephron segment does and which drugs act there, how renal blood flow is distributed between cortex and medulla, why the outer medulla is vulnerable to ischaemia, and how PAH clearance measures renal plasma flow.
Tier 2Medical sciences concept
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Each kidney has roughly 1 million nephrons (autopsy series range about 200,000 to 2.7 million). Low nephron endowment predicts hypertension and CKD.
- The kidneys get 20 to 25% of cardiac output (about 1.2 L/min) for 0.5% of body weight. Most of it supports filtration, not metabolism.
- Two capillary beds sit in series: high-pressure glomerular capillaries for filtration, and low-pressure peritubular capillaries (and vasa recta) for reabsorption.
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Sources
- Brenner and Rector's The Kidney (11th ed.)Elsevier (Yu et al., 2020), 2020
- Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (14th ed.)Elsevier (Hall and Hall, 2021), 2021
- Nephron number, hypertension, renal disease, and renal failureJournal of the American Society of Nephrology (Hoy, Hughson, Bertram, Douglas-Denton and Amann, 2005;16(9):2557-2564), 2005
- Hypoxia of the renal medulla: its implications for diseaseNew England Journal of Medicine (Brezis and Rosen, 1995;332:647-655), 1995
- Bertram JF, Douglas-Denton RN, Diouf B, Hughson MD, Hoy WE. Human nephron number: implications for health and disease. Pediatr Nephrol 2011;26(9):1529-33Pediatric Nephrology, 2011
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
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