Bowman’s capsule

Bowman’s capsule A cup-shaped receptacle in the kidney that contains the glomerulus. A semipermeable twisted mass of tiny tubes through which the blood passes. It is the primary filtering device of the nephron, a tiny structure that produces urine during the process of removing wastes.

Each kidney is made up of about 1 million nephrons. Blood is transported into the Bowman’s capsule from the afferent arteriole. That branches off of the interlobular artery. The blood is filtered out within the capsule, through the glomeru­lus, and then passes out by way of the efferent arteri­ole. The filtered water and aqueous wastes are passed out of the Bowman’s capsule into the proximal convo­luted tubule. Where it passes through the loop of Heinle and into the distal convoluted tubule. Eventually the urine passes and filters through the tiny ducts of the calyces. The smallest part of the kidney is collecting sys­tem. Where it begins to be collected and passes down into the pelvis of the kidney before it makes its way to the ureter and to the bladder for elimination.