Draw a neat diagram of a longitudinal section of a human kidney and label Renal Cortex and Renal Medulla on the diagram.
Topic: Longitudinal section of the kidney
Answer
Your diagram must show a bean-shaped kidney cut lengthwise, with: • RENAL CORTEX — the OUTER region, granular in appearance • RENAL MEDULLA — the INNER region, containing the cone-shaped pyramids with a striped appearance • RENAL PELVIS — the funnel-shaped cavity collecting the urine • URETER leaving from the concave side (hilum) • RENAL ARTERY and RENAL VEIN entering and leaving at the hilum
The two required labels are RENAL CORTEX and RENAL MEDULLA.
Only TWO labels are asked for, but the diagram must still be correctly SHAPED to earn the drawing marks.
GET THE TWO REGIONS THE RIGHT WAY ROUND — this is the pair most often swapped: CORTEX = OUTER, and it holds the MALPIGHIAN CAPSULES, which give it a dotted, granular look MEDULLA = INNER, and it holds the LOOPS OF HENLE and collecting ducts running in parallel, which give it a striped look
Fix it by the logic rather than by memory: FILTRATION must happen where the blood arrives, at the outside; CONCENTRATION happens as the filtrate travels inwards.
Remember the kidney is BEAN-SHAPED, with the vessels and ureter entering at the CONCAVE side.