c. Hilium. The hilium is a notch near the center of the rounded border of each
kidney. Blood vessels and the ureter enter each kidney at this point.
d. Renal Pelvis. The part of the kidney that is the collecting point for urine
formed in the kidneys is called the renal pelvis. Peristalsis carries urine from the renal
pelvis to the ureter.
e. Nephron. The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. It is estimated
that each kidney has about a million nephrons. Each nephron consists of a renal
corpuscle and a tubular system. See figure 1-5.
NEPHRON = renal corpuscle + tubular system
Figure 1-5. A "typical" nephron.
MD0579
1-7