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Renal Tubular Reabsorption Activity

This activity will allow the student to manually manipulate solvent and solutes throughout the
nephron to promote understanding and eliminate misconceptions of renal physiology.

1. Obtain four blank sheets of paper and tape them together to make a large rectangle.
2. On the side of the rectangle without tape, draw a large nephron. Use the long side of the
rectangle for the nephron loop (loop of Henle). Use black ink for Bowmans capsule and
all tubules. The lumen of the blood vessels and renal tubules should be at least one inch
in diameter. Draw and label the capsular space, parietal layer of the glomerular capsule,
proximal convoluted tubule, thin descending limb of the nephron loop, thick ascending
limb of the nephron loop, distal convoluted tubule, collecting duct, and papillary duct.
3. Use red ink to draw and label the blood vessels: afferent arteriole, glomerulus, efferent
arteriole, peritubular capillaries and vasa recta.
4. Label the endothelial-capsular (filtration) membrane. Note that this filtration membrane
consists of the endothelium of the glomerulus, basal lamina of the glomerulus, and
visceral layer of the glomerular capsule.
5. Label the renal medulla at the bottom of the nephron loop. Label the renal cortex.
6. Obtain the following items:
2 index cards labeled aldosterone and ADH
1 token for blood cells - quarter
1 token for large proteins - nickel
1 token for small/medium proteins - penny
1 token for amino acids dime (what is the logic behind using this order of coins?)
1 token for glucose piece of gum or candy or sugar bag
1 token for bicarbonate ion- rubber band
4 tokens for urea small post-it notes (folded in half, sticky side in)
10 tokens for sodium ion salt bags
10 tokens for water - paperclips
Feel free to substitute any other available small objects for these tokens.

7. Place all the solutes (tokens) in the lumen of the afferent arteriole. They represent
contents of unfiltered arterial blood.
8. Move all the solute (tokens) into the glomerulus due to arterial blood pressure.
9. What one solute (token) cannot pass the endothelium of the glomerulus?
10. What one solute (token) cannot pass the basement membrane of the glomerulus?
11. What one solute (token) cannot pass the visceral layer of the glomerular capsule?
12. What happens to the blood cells, large proteins, and small/medium proteins? Where will
they go to next? Move them.
13. Move all the remaining solutes (tokens) into the capsular space because of the positive
filtration pressure.
14. Now move the solutes (tokens) from the capsular space into the proximal convoluted
tubule. What two solutes will be completely reabsorbed here from the filtrate before they
pass into the nephron loop? Move those two tokens into the peritubular capillary.
15. Almost all (80-90%) of bicarbonate ion is reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubule.
Move the bicarbonate ion token into the peritubular capillary.
16. As 65% of sodium and water are also reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubule,
move six sodium and six water tokens into the peritubular capillary.
17. Although it is a waste product, 50% of urea is still reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted
tubule. Move 1 urea token into the peritubular capillary. What other solutes (that have no
tokens in this exercise) are partially reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubule?
18. Now move the remaining solutes (tokens) into the thin descending limb of the nephron
loop.
19. Since 15% of water is reabsorbed in the nephron loop, move one water token into the
peritubular capillary.

20. Move the rest of the solutes (tokens) into the thick ascending limb of the nephron loop.
What solutes are actively transported out of the thick ascending limb of the nephron loop
by symporters?
21. Move one sodium token from the thick ascending nephron loop into the peritubular
capillary.
22. Move the rest of the tokens into the distal convoluted tubule and collecting duct.
23. Reabsorption in the distal convoluted tubule/collecting duct is mostly controlled by the
hormones aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone. Assume both hormones have been
secreted. Place index cards with the hormones names next to the distal convoluted tubule
and collecting duct. What solute will be reabsorbed in the distal convoluted
tubule/collecting duct when aldosterone is secreted?
24. Move two sodium tokens into the peritubular capillary due to the action of aldosterone.
25. What solvent will be reabsorbed in the distal convoluted tubule/collecting duct when
antidiuretic hormone is secreted? Is this hormone secreted when one is well-hydrated or
dehydrated?
26. Due to the action of ADH, water in the collecting duct diffuses from the duct into the
hypertonic renal medulla. Move two water tokens into the vasa recta due to the action of
antidiuretic hormone. What happens to all the tokens (solutes and solvent) that are in the
peritubular capillary and vasa recta?
27. As water is being reabsorbed from the collecting duct, the concentration of urea in the
collecting duct increases and thus urea will diffuse from high to low concentration.
Move one urea token out of the collecting duct into the renal medulla.
28. The thin limb of the nephron loop is permeable to urea. Move the urea token from the
renal medulla into the thin limb of the nephron loop. Urea will move with the filtrate
through the nephron back to the collecting duct again. Some urea will continue to diffuse
from collecting duct to renal medulla to thin limb of the loop again and again. Move the
urea token to simulate urea recycling.
29. Move the remaining solute tokens in the collecting duct into the papillary duct. The fluid
and solutes now comprise urine to be excreted. What tokens (solutes and solvent) are in
urine?

30. List some other contents of urine have not been used in this exercise.

Answers
9. blood cells
10. large proteins
11. small/medium proteins
12. They are not filtered as they are too large to cross the filtration membrane. The blood
cells, large proteins, and small/medium proteins move into the efferent arteriole.
14. glucose and amino acids
17. potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium
20. sodium, chloride, potassium (chloride and potassium do not have tokens in this
exercise)
23. sodium
25. water; dehydrated
26. they are reabsorbed into the bloodstream
29. One token of sodium, two tokens of urea, one token of water.
30. Other contents of urine not used in this exercise: chloride, potassium, calcium,
hydrogen ion, ammonium, creatinine, and uric acid.

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