Kidney Dissection Lab

Hey there everyone. We are going to cut some more organs. Enjoy!

LAB WORK REPORT

Title: Kidney Dissection Lab.

Vocabulary⬇

Calyx - cup-like division found in the renal medulla; minor calyces (plural) empty into major calyces.

Renal artery - branch from the abdominal aorta that supplies the kidney with oxygenated blood.

Renal capsule - dense, irregular connective tissue layer that protects the kidney and helps maintain its shape.

Renal corpuscle - glomerulus enclosed within a glomerular capsule; site of filtration.

Renal cortex - outer region of the kidney.

Renal medulla - inner portion of the kidney.

Renal pelvis - large cavity that receives urine from major calyces; continuous with ureter.

Renal pyramid - cone-shaped structure found in the medulla with its base facing the cortex and the apex facing the renal artery.

Renal vein - blood vessel exiting the kidney carrying filtered, deoxygenated blood to the inferior vena cava.

Ureter - tube that connects the kidney to the urinary bladder.

Introduction: Kidneys are purplish-brown organs and located below the ribs toward the middle of the back. Their function is to remove liquid waste from the blood in the form of urine; keep a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood; and produce erythropoietin, a hormone that aids the formation of red blood cells. The kidneys remove urea from the blood through tiny filtering units called nephrons. Each nephron consists of a ball formed of small blood capillaries, called a glomerulus, and a small tube called a renal tubule. Urea, together with water and other waste substances, forms the urine as it passes through the nephrons and down the renal tubules of the kidney.

Purpose: to be able to explain excretory system and organs functions, urine formation and related diseases; describe blood flow through kidney structures using sequential transition words (subsequently, previously, eventually, next, before (this), afterwards, after (this), then).

Equipment:

Procedure:

1. Examine and identify the outside of the kidney. The ureter [yu'ri:te], renal artery, and renal vein all enter the kidney in the same area. If they are present, the ureter can be identified by the larger amount of fat tissue that is usually attached to it.
2. Letting the kidney lie flat, cut the kidney in half lengthwise from the side. Do not cut until you have checked and are sure of the correct direction of your cut—As a surgeon, you only get one chance to cut, and there is no way to redo this!))
3. Splitting the kidney in half will show its internal structures. Examine the kidney and the diagram to identify these structures. There are several parts to the kidney, as shown on the picture. From the outside to the centre of the kidney, find each of the following in your organ.
4. Use flagged pins to identify the following parts of the internal kidney. 
   
5. After you have identified all the structures in the kidney, work with your group to trace the path taken through your group’s kidney by the blood, and by the filtrate that becomes the urine. As you do this, point out and name all the structures that are involved. When your group is satisfied that you can do this well, your group should use the kidney to explain it to the teacher!

Result:

Draw the picture of the kidney showing all parts that you have identified.

Conclusion (answer these questions):

1. What is the main function of the kidney? 
2. Describe the pathway of blood through the kidney. 
3. How did you distinguish between the renal artery and the renal vein? 
4. Which area of the kidney contains the glomeruli and Bowman’s capsules? 
5. In which part of the kidney does the majority of water reabsorption occur? 
6. What structure carries urine out of the kidney and where does it go?