回顧問題不定期更新 Study Questions are Made by Prof. Cruz & Prof. Moore from Oberlin College & Conservatory

Lecture 6: The Mammalian Kidney

1. Make a line drawing of a nephron and label the following: ascending limb of the loop of Henle, descending limb of the loop of Henle, tubule, glomerulus, Bowman’s capsule, matrix, medulla, distal convoluted tubule, collecting duct, proximal convoluted tubule.

2. How would you expect your urine volume to change under the following circumstances:

a) after a salt-heavy meal (like 3 bowls of ramen)?

b) after a six-pack of beer?

c) during a trek in the Mojave Desert?

d) after downing 4 cans of Red Bull?

3. The brain has a region that can measure the osmolarity of blood. (That’s why the Mojave hike described above causes you to ‘feel thirsty’.) Can you now explain the vasopressin connection? After that desert hike, would you expect to produce more or less urine? Why?

4. Many rodents and reptiles that live in deserts have exceedingly long loops of Henle in their kidneys, compared with their rainforest relatives. What is the adaptive significance of such long loops?

5. Make a list of the different portions of the loop of Henle. For each portion, describe what has happened to the filtrate volume and osmolarity as it leaves that portion and flows into the next one.

6. In which portion of the kidney tubule is the filtrate most hypertonic (relative to the matrix)? Explain.

7. Animals with pituitary tumors are frequently unable to release vasopressin into their bloodstream as needed. Would you expect such animals to make more, or less urine? Explain.

8. Your roommate, with whom you have peeing contests (for fun) frequently, always produces more urine than you. When consulting your doctor about this, you are informed that your cells make far more of the protein, aquaporin, than those of your roommate. Excitedly, you tell your roommate about this finding and explain to him that now it makes sense he always wins in your peeing contests. Roommate face goes blank and he says, “Huh?” How do you explain your excitement to him?

9. The human pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), is made by the human embryo starting the second week of development. Can you explain to your roommate how a pregnancy test kit works?

10. Cotinine is a product of nicotine catabolism. Unlike nicotine, cotinine stays in the bloodstream a lot longer than nicotine. Explain how a urine test can reveal that you habitually smoke cigarettes even if you haven’t done so in several days.

11. The cells of diabetic persons are unable to utilize glucose found in their bloodstream after a high-sugar or high-carbohydrate meal. One of the quick diagnostic procedures for diabetes is the presence of high glucose levels in the urine. Explain how the glucose got there.

注意本文集的Study Question都是沒有答案的喔~ 有問題的話可以找UP主喔~

離久-張所長