The kidney's intrinsic capacity to control blood flow gives the ability to regulate glomerular filtration.
What is renal autoregulation?
Renal autoregulation is a mechanism that allows the kidneys to maintain constant blood flow and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). This is hugely important to keep homeostasis for several reasons:
- The right blood flow and GFR are necessary for excreting metabolic wastes, which avoids poisoning.
- It is key to maintain the electrolyte balance by finely regulating water and ions reabsorption.
- In case of high arterial pressure, autoregulation protects the glomerular capillaries from suffering an injury.
Mechanisms involved in renal autoregulation
Two mechanisms take part in Renal autoregulation:
- Myogenic response: preglomerular arterioles (especially at the level of afferent arterioles) can sense elevations in transmural pressure, which induces their contraction.
- Tubuloglomerular feedback: when the tubular fluid reaches the macula densa located in the distant tubule, the cells on it can detect changes in the concentration of sodium chloride, which is dependent on flow rate, and induce a modification in the diameter of the afferent arteriole.
In conclusion, blood flow and glomerular filtration are two hugely important factors in renal function and both can be regulated by the kidney itself via two mechanisms.
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