| Renal medulla | |||
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| Vertical section of kidney. (Label "medullary sub." visible near top.) | |||
| Gray's | subject #253 1221 | ||
| MeSH | Kidney+medulla | ||
The renal medulla is the innermost part of the kidney. The renal medulla is split up into a number of sections, known as the renal pyramids. Blood enters into the kidney via the renal artery, which then splits up to form the arcuate arterioles. The arcuate arterioles each in turn branch into interlobular arterioles, which finally reach the glomeruli. At the glomerulus the blood reaches a highly disfavourable pressure gradient and a large exchange surface area, which forces the serum portion of the blood out of the vessel into the renal tubules. Flow continues through the renal tubules, including the proximal tubule, the Loop of Henle, and finally leaves the kidney by means of the collecting duct, leading to the renal ureter.
The renal medulla (latin renes medulla = kidney middle) contains the structures of the nephrons responsible for maintaining the salt and water balance of the blood. The renal medulla is hypertonic to the filtrate in the nephron and aids in the reabsorption of water.
Additional images
 Frontal section through the kidney |
 Microscopic cross section of the renal medulla. |
 Kidney |
External links
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