Instructions

Please read each section/question carefully. Answer questions in complete sentences, and if/when you need to cite outside materials, please use footnotes. All work is to be typed, and may be submitted either by email or in class. This assignment is to be put in your portfolio and submitted no later than Thursday August 30th. NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED

Short Answer:

Define: Nephrology

Define: Glomerulonephritis.  Identify the bacterium most commonly responsible for this condition

Define: Dialysis.  There are two methods of dialysis: Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis – Explain the mechanisms of each

Explain the reason for the absence of albumin in the urine.

Explain the reason for the absence of glucose in the urine.

By what three methods is the H+ concentration on body fluids regulated?

What does specific gravity tell you about a urine sample?

Case Study 1

Mr. O’Toole is very drunk when he is brought to the emergency room after falling down the steps at the Capitol during a political rally.  He is complaining about his “cotton mouth”.  Knowing that alcohol inhibits ADH’s action, you explain to him why his mouth is so dry. 

Q1: What do you tell him?

Case Study 2

Tammy went to Florida in January to participate in a Triathlon.  Despite adequate training and finishing in a respectable time, she wasn’t quite acclimated to the heat and humidity, and sweated profusely through the biking and running portions.  Later that evening she noticed she was passing more concentrated urine, at a lower volume. 

Q:  Explain why Tammy is likely to have a lowered urinary output for the next day or so.

Q2: What mechanisms allow Tammy to alter the concentration of her urine she produces large amounts of sweat?

Q3: If the cells of the proximal convoluted tubule were inhibited, how would the composition of the urine differ? If the cells of the Loop of Henle are not doing their job, will the urine be more or less dilute? If the cells of the distal convoluted tubule were inhibited, which urinary contents wouldn’t be excreted as efficiently? If the collecting duct becomes more permeable to water, will Michelle produce more or less urine?

Case Study 3:

Mrs. R is breathing rapidly & slurring her speech when her husband calls the clinic in a panic.  Shortly after, she becomes comatose.  Tests show that her blood glucose and ketone levels are high and her husband said that she was urinating every few minutes before she became lethargic.

Q1: What is Mrs. R’s problem?

Q2: Would you expect her blood pH to be acidic or alkaline? Why?

Q3: What is the significance of her rapid breathing?

Q4: Are her kidneys reabsorbing or secreting bicarbonate ions during this crisis?