hi let's talk about the internal gross anatomy of the kidneys
in this video we'll discuss the internal gross anatomy of the kidneys
the parenchyma of the kidney much like other organs can be divided into a cortex and a medulla
with the cortex surrounding the medulla the medulla is organized into discrete collections
of tissue called pyramids these are probably poorly named because when you look at them
three-dimensionally they're actually conical in nature so they're named pyramids because
when you section through the kidney or if you section through a cone the profile looks
pure middle in nature if you want to relate this to histology the nephron loops so the
loops of henle as well as the distal portions of collecting ducts are found within the medulla
the cortex has two distinct components to it there are the cortical arches these are the
regions which would be superficial to the bases of the pyramids so i'm outlining those here and then
there are the renal columns the renal columns are the spaces that interleave between the
cortical arches and the lateral portions of the medulla this uh this cortex is where we'll find
the um the renal corpuscles as well as proximal and distal convoluted tubules of the nephrons
ultimately the the distal portions of collecting ducts will travel down
to regions of the medulla known as the renal papillae
these renal papillae are going to be surrounded by minor
calyces these minor calyces are the proximal most portions of the excretory pathway
of urine and these renal papillae therefore represent the point of no return
at which the renal filtrate is unambiguously urine so all processes of tubular resorption
and secretion are finished at this point and this fluid is now urine so we'll discuss the granular
details of the excretory pathway or the pathway by which urine is conducted from the kidneys
to the urinary bladder and beyond in another video suffice it to say minor calyces are these proximal
portions which surround the renal papillae and they're going to coalesce into major calyces
and generally we'll have three to four minor calyces per major calyx and then major calyces
will coalesce to form the renal pelvis and typically we'll have
two to three major calyces per kidney that renal pelvis can then be seen
exiting the hilum and is contiguous with the ureter and that ureter is going then
to conduct urine down to the urinary bladder so we've discussed the various regions of
the parenchyma both the cortex and the medulla as well as the proximal portions of
the excretory pathway of urine this is your summary slide thank you for your time