The basic functional unit of the kidney. its chief function is to regulate the concentration of water and soluble substances like sodium salts by filtering the blood, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the rest as urine. A nephron eliminates wastes from the body, regulates blood volume and blood pressure, controls levels of electrolytes and metabolites, and regulates blood pH. Its functions are vital to life and are regulated by the endocrine system by hormones such as antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone, and parathyroid hormone.[WP].

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Gray1128.png

kidney terms require review for cross-vertebrate compatibility and developmental relationships.

Functional unit of the kidney that filters waste.[TAO]

mature nephron

uberon

nephroneum, tubulus renalis

UBERON:0001285

http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/uberon.owl, http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/cl.owl

In the avian kidney, three types of nephron are identified: mammalian-type nephrons with long and short loops of Henle, and reptilian type nephrons (Gambaryan, 1992)

• renal corpuscle

• uriniferous tubule

• nephrogenic mesenchyme
• primitive nephron
• nephron progenitor

• renal corpuscle
• collecting duct of renal tubule
• nephron epithelium
• epithelial cell of nephron