Question

1.When the kidney goes into failure, one of the signs the doctor will see is the red blood cells will shrink. Why does this happen in kidney failure? What process is occuring to the blood cells?

2. A patient with congestive heart failure has swollen ankles and feet. Why does this occur? Often this is accompainied by inflamation. What could be the reason for the inflamation?

3. If we estimate that total blood volume is 7% body weight, calculate the blood volume in a 200 lb man and a 135 lb woman. What are their plasma volumes if the man hermatocrit is 52% and the womans is 41%. Would you expect to find valves in the veins leading from the brain to your heart? Defend your answer.

Why would it be more efficient to put ACE in the pulmonary vasculature and not the systemic vasculature?

4. If myelinated axons results in nerve impulses traveling faster by saltatory conduction, why are all our neurons not myelinated? Surely that would make the nervous system much more efficient. Explain your answer

Answer 1

1. Erythropoietin which helps in formation of Red blood cells and it is the hormone produced by the kidney. As a chemical messenger,erythropoietin travels to the tissue and organ(bone marrow) ,guides to make red blood cells .In kideny malfunction cases, kidney no more produces the erythropoietin which causes shrinkage of RBC and causes anemia. Due to lack of iron due to anemia can't produce the substance hemoglobin in red blood cells to carry oxygen and causes shrinkage of red blood cells.