The mammalian urine concentrating mechanism: hypotheses and uncertainties.
The urine concentrating mechanism of the mammalian kidney, which can produce a urine that is substantially more concentrated than blood plasma during periods of water deprivation, is one of the enduring mysteries in traditional physiology. Owing to the complex lateral and axial relationships of tubules and vessels, in both the outer and inner medulla, the urine concentrating mechanism may only be fully understood in terms of the kidney's three-dimensional functional architecture and its implications for preferential interactions among tubules and vessels.
Layton
Anita T
AT
Department of Mathematics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. alayton@math.duke.edu
Layton
Harold E
HE
Dantzler
William H
WH
Pannabecker
Thomas L
TL
D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000502:physiology*; D007679:Kidney Medulla / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D008138:Loop of Henle / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D023421:Models, Animal; D051381:Rats; D014556:Urine / Q000502:physiology*