What is the functional unit of the kidney?

What is the functional unit of the kidney?

• A. Glomerulus
• B. Collecting Duct
• C. Nephron
• D. Ureter

Answer: (C)

Nephrons are the functional units of the kidney. They carry out the processes of urine formation—filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. Each nephron includes a renal corpuscle, where blood is filtered by the glomerulus into Bowman's capsule, and a renal tubule system (proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubule) that reabsorbs needed substances and secretes others, finishing with the collecting duct that concentrates urine. While the glomerulus is essential for filtration and the collecting duct handles final urine concentration, neither alone nor the ureter (which merely transports urine to the bladder) performs all the kidney’s processing. The nephron, as a whole, integrates these steps, making it the functional unit.

Nephrons are the functional units of the kidney. They carry out the processes of urine formation—filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. Each nephron includes a renal corpuscle, where blood is filtered by the glomerulus into Bowman's capsule, and a renal tubule system (proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubule) that reabsorbs needed substances and secretes others, finishing with the collecting duct that concentrates urine. While the glomerulus is essential for filtration and the collecting duct handles final urine concentration, neither alone nor the ureter (which merely transports urine to the bladder) performs all the kidney’s processing. The nephron, as a whole, integrates these steps, making it the functional unit.