DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY

Renal Physiology – Laboratory Exercises

Urbano, Courtney A. February 4, 2019

Group 9B

1. A 15-year-old girly develops post streptococcal glomerulonephritis. In this

condition the glomeruli are damaged by an acute inflammatory reaction. This
inflammatory response damages the filtration barrier, and the integrity of the
endothelium and the net negative charge on the glomerular basement membrane
are lost.

Which of the following substances would appear in greater quantity in the urine of
the girl?
a. RBCs
b. Glucose
c. Sodium
d. ProteinsE

Proteins are usually somewhat negatively charged as well as the basement

membrane, so they don’t get filtered due to repulsion. Without a charge on on the
glomerular basement membrane, proteins can now move through and be filtered.

2. A healthy volunteer participates in a clinical research project designed to examine

the renal handling of various substances. The results of the project are given
below. Fill in the chart and determine how substances A, B, C, and D are handled
by the kidneys (i.e., filtered only, filtered and reabsorbed, or filtered and secreted).
It is known that 50% of substance B is bound to plasma protein, and 75% of
substance D is bound to plasma protein. Neither substance A nor C is protein
bound. The urine flow rate is 0.5 ml/min.

2.75 110 2.75 0

0.4 10 4.4 4
3.75 55.15 3.74 0
5.5 550 1.1 -4.4
5 83.33 1.65 -3.35

*Plasma [x] represents the total concentration (i.e., bound plus unbound)
Neither Substance A or C is protein bound. Proteins are too large to fit through the
fenestrae hence it would be filtered less. A fraction of Substance B and D are bound to
plasma protein. Substance B is has been filtered more than Substance D because it has
a higher percentage of unbound plasma protein . It can be gleaned from the table above
that inulin and Substance B are filtered alone while, Substance A is filtered and
reabsorbed, and Substance C and D are filtered and secreted.

3. A man weighing 60 kg has an episode of gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea.

Over a 2-day period, this individual loses 4 kg of body weight. Before he became
ill, his plasma [Na+] was 140 meq/L, and it is unchanged by the illness.

Assuming the entire loss of body weight represents the loss of fluid, estimate the
following:

36
24
12
10,080
6,270
3,360


32
24
8
8,960
6,270
2,240