Question

Write the functions of Bowman’s capsule.

Answer 1

Hint:- The structural and functional units of the kidneys are nephrons which extract wastes from the blood. There are two types of nephrons inside the kidneys- cortical and juxta-medullary nephrons. Bowman’s capsule and renal tubule are the two parts of each cortical nephron.

Complete Answer:- The Bowman’s capsule is a double walled cup present in the renal cortex. It is lined by a thin and semipermeable squamous epithelium formed of flat cells. The inner layer of the Bowman’s capsule is called the visceral layer while the outer layer is called the parietal layer. The visceral layer is formed of special epithelial cells that are known as foot cells or podocytes as they have feet-like structures called pedicels. These also consist of thousands to millions of minute pores called slit pores that help in passing the ultrafiltrate. The outer wall is in continuation with the rest of the nephron and the cavity between the two walls of the Bowman’s capsule is continuous with the lumen of the next part of the nephron. The cavity of Bowman’s capsule has a group of about fifty capillaries called the glomerulus.
The Bowman’s capsule and the glomerulus together form a body called renal corpuscle or Malpighian body. The glomerular capillary endothelium has numerous minute pores called fenestrae. Between the visceral epithelium and the glomerular capillary endothelium, there is a basement membrane. The visceral layer, basement membrane and glomerular endothelium collectively form a filtering or dialyzing membrane. It acts as an ultrafilter and is responsible for ultrafiltration.
So the main function of the Bowman’s capsule is ultrafiltration.

Note:- Each Bowman’s capsule has a long, thin tubule attached to it. This tubule has three distinct regions- Proximal convoluted tubule, Henle’s loop and Distal convoluted tubule. The last part of the nephron is collecting tubules.