Figure 1 Ultrafiltration of the blood occurs through two filtration barriers of the capillaries
While students can accurately recall that ultrafiltration of the blood occurs from the glomeruli into the lumen of the Bowman’s capsules of kidney tubules, some are unclear about how this ultrafiltration occurs. To understand this, we need to consider the filtration barrier and the factors that affect what is filtered.
Figure 1(a) reminds you of the structure of a single Bowman’s capsule and the proximal tubule that leads from it. Within the capsule is a collection of capillaries – the glomerulus. These capillaries are surrounded by specialised cells – the podocytes.
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