Bowman’s Capsule

Lucien Rizzo

Receive:

  • Hydrostatic pressure from blood pumping into the glomerular capillaries forces fluid, ions, glucose, and nitrogenous waste products (urea) into the glomerulus. These flow through the fenestrated capillary endothelium, the basement membrane, and glomerular epithelial cells.
  • Non-filterable blood components include red blood cells, white blood cells, large proteins (albumin), and platelets.
  • Osmotic pressure is formed by the negatively charged proteins that remain in the capillary. This force acts to pull filtrate back into the capillary in direct opposition to hydrostatic pressure. The balance between the two determines the glomerular filtration rate
    • Starling Equation: GFR = Filtration Constant × [Hydrostatic Glomerulus Pressure–Hydrostatic Bowman’s Capsule Pressure]–[Osmotic Glomerulus Pressure+Osmotic Bowman’s Capsule Pressure]

Export:

  • Grossly unaltered ultrafiltrate