Glomerular Filtration

Urine formation begins with glomerular filtration, the bulk flow of fluid from the glomerular capillaries into Bowman’s capsule. The glomerular filtrate (ie, the fluid within Bowman’s capsule) is very much like blood plasma. However, it contains very little total protein. The large plasma proteins like albumin and globulins are virtually excluded from moving through the filtration barrier. Smaller proteins, such as many of the peptide hormones, are present in the filtrate, but their mass in total is miniscule compared with the mass of large plasma proteins in the blood. The filtrate contains most inorganic ions and low-molecular-weight organic solutes in virtually the same concentrations as in the plasma. Substances that are present in the filtrate at the same concentration as found in the plasma are said to be freely filtered. (Note that freely filtered does not mean all filtered. The amount filtered is in exact proportion to the fraction of plasma volume that is filtered.) Many low-molecular-weight components of blood are freely filtered. Among the most common substances included in the freely filtered category are the ions sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate; the neutral organics glucose and urea; amino acids; and peptides like insulin and antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
The volume of filtrate formed per unit time is known as the GFR. In a normal
young adult male, the GFR is an incredible 180 L/day (125 mL/min)! Contrast this value with the net filtration of fluid across all the other capillaries in the body: approximately 4 L/day. The implications of this huge GFR are extremely important. When we recall that the average total volume of plasma in humans is approximately 3 L, it follows that the entire plasma volume is filtered by the kidneys some 60 times a day. The opportunity to filter such huge volumes of plasma enables the kidneys to excrete large quantities of waste products and to regulate the constituents of the internal environment very precisely. One of the general consequences of aging and of many renal pathologies is a reduction in the GFR.