Nephron, Nephron

Its chief function is to regulate the concentration of water and soluble substances like sodium salts by filtering the blood, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the rest as urine. A nephron eliminates wastes from the body, regulates blood volume and blood pressure, controls levels of electrolytes and metabolites, and regulates blood pH. Its functions are vital to life and are regulated by the endocrine system by hormones such as antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone, and parathyroid hormone.

The glomerular blood pressure provides the driving force for water and solutes to be filtered out of the blood and into the space made by Bowman's capsule. The remainder of the blood (only approximately 1/5 of all plasma passing through the kidney is filtered through the glomerular wall into Bowman's capsule) passes into the narrower efferent arteriole. It then moves into the vasa recta, which are collecting capillaries intertwined with the convoluted tubules through the interstitial space, in which the reabsorbed substances will also enter. This then combines with efferent venules from other nephrons into the renal vein, and rejoins the main bloodstream.

Fluids from blood in the glomerulus are filtered through the visceral layer of podocytes, and the resulting glomerular filtrate is further processed along the nephron to form urine.

These drugs, called diuretics, inhibit the ability of the nephron to retain water, thereby increasing the amount of urine produced.

Source: Wikipedia > Nephron