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Showing posts from November, 2020

About us

We are a group of medical aspirants who write about various medical topics that provide better insight into how the body works and how we can relate various diseases of our body as an imbalance in normal physiology. We are ready to answer any queries made by the readers and always ready to accept any legitimate suggestions made.

Renin angiotensin aldosterone mechanism and its pathology

Renin-angiotensin and aldosterone system  also known  as RAAS is one of the major regulatory systems of the human body. It plays a major role in maintaining blood pressure and volume and regulating blood sodium levels.   Mechanism of secretion of renin:    Renin is an enzyme/hormone that is secreted by extra glomerular mesangial cells/ Polkessien  cells or juxtaglomerular granular cells. These cells are present in afferent arteriole of each nephron of kidneys and some in efferent arteriole too. They are the specialized smooth muscle which secrete renin whenever blood flow is less.   When there is normal blood flow, there is normal filtration on the glomerulus, about 60% of sodium is reabsorbed and 25% is reabsorbed in the ascending loop of Henle. The remaining 10 % remains  in the distal convoluted  tubule ( DCT). In the DCT there are specialized cuboidal cells called macula  densa  cells which detect the concentration of sodium ions in the DCT.    Juxtaglomerular  apparatus: Nephron