Nephron and collecting duct: structure in three dimensions
Trace an enlarged renal corpuscle, folded tubule, hairpin loop and adjacent collecting duct. The open geometry makes selected relationships visible from several angles.
Inside the assembly
The open capsule on the left surrounds a compact group of red capillary loops. A rounded yellow route leaves this region and continues into the long descending limb. Its hairpin turn connects to a pale ascending path and an upper folded segment before reaching the thicker collecting duct on the right. Smaller blue routes illustrate nearby blood vessels without attempting a full microvascular reconstruction.
Scientific explanation
A nephron combines a blood-filtering region with a tubule that changes the filtrate by returning useful substances to the blood and removing wastes. The collecting duct receives tubular fluid downstream.
- Glomerulus
- Capillary filter inside the renal corpuscle
- Tubule
- Segment that modifies the filtered fluid
- Collecting duct
- Downstream passage receiving tubular fluid
One enlarged, diagrammatic nephron is shown; exact segment dimensions, transport proteins, osmotic gradients and filtration rates are not modelled. Colours and proportions are teaching conventions. This original schematic is not patient-derived or clinically validated, and is not a molecular simulation or a manufacturing specification.
References
NIDDK: kidneys and nephronsExplore the model
- Locate the capillary tuft within the open capsule.
- Follow the long U-shaped limb without switching to the blue vessel.
- Find the junction between the distal tubule and the collecting duct.
From geometry to engineering
Rotate the model, compare its named structures with the references, then use the article to distinguish what is represented from what is simplified.