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Renal corpuscle
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The renal corpuscle is a small, round-shaped component of the nephron, located in the renal cortex of kidneys. Each renal corpuscle is made up of two structures: a small tuft of capillaries known as the glomerulus, and a surrounding cup-shaped structure known as the Bowman's capsule (glomerular capsule). In total, there are approximately one-million renal corpuscles in each kidney. They serve as the kidney's filtration units. Blood is filtered by the glomerulus and the filtered fluid (glomerular filtrate) is collected in the Bowman's capsule and passed on to the tubular network of the nephron to form urine.
As new nephrons are not developed after birth, any lost renal corpuscles cannot be replaced and only decrease in number with age, which translates to the reduced rate of glomerular filtration seen with older age.
| Terminology |
English: Renal corpuscle Latin: Corpusculum renale |
| Structure | Renal corpuscle = glomerulus + Bowman's capsule. |
| Location | Renal cortex of kidney |
| Function | Filters blood |
Learn more about the kidneys with this study unit:
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