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Kidney component
Answer for the clue "Kidney component ", 7 letters:
nephron
Alternative clues for the word nephron
Word definitions for nephron in dictionaries
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1932, from German nephron (1924), from Greek nephros "kidney," from PIE *negwhro- "kidney" (cognates: Latin nefrones , Old Norse nyra , Dutch nier , German Niere "kidney").
Wiktionary
Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. (context anatomy English) The basic structural and functional unit of the kidney, which filters the blood in order to regulate chemical concentrations, and thereby produces urine.
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. any of the small tubules that are the excretory units of the vertebrate kidney [syn: uriniferous tubule ]
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
The nephron (from Greek νεφρός - nephros, meaning "kidney") is the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney . Its chief function is to regulate the concentration of water and soluble substances like sodium salts by filtering the blood , reabsorbing ...
Usage examples of nephron.
There is more than one type of nephron, but for our purpose we may assume they are all identical.
Essentially, the nephron filters out the solids and processes the fluids of the blood, where the wastes are.
What affects one nephron is likely to affect them all, and when the nephron shuts down, your body has no way to eliminate its waste products.
But sometimes the damage is limited, and the shutdown is only partial, or only a percentage of the nephrons are affected.
Since the body has an enormous overcapacity, you can lose as much as ninety percent of your nephrons, and suffer no ill effects.