Custom essays, dissertations, coursework & essay help from the UK's original custom essay writing services provider
Free Essays - Biology Essays
What are the strengths and weaknesses of an artificial kidney based on the use of proximal convoluted tubule cells?
Kidneys: The body’s toxin filter
The human kidney is an amazing organ. This small fist sized mass of tissues and veins is the body’s main defense against liquid-based pathogens. The kidney works as a type of seining system to actually draw toxins out of the blood and then distribute them to a storage container for excretion from the body. The filtration system may seem perfect at first glance, but there are a few problems that can arise depending on the living conditions and family history of the individual. Some conditions can arise in which total kidney failure will result, such as cancer or disease. In other situations, some type of trauma resulting from an accident or physical harm might cause kidney damage to the point that the organ cannot perform its function any longer. In the past, cases in which a kidney failed usually meant that unless the person had a healthy second kidney, death was eminent. Today, however, modern medicine has made possible the use of what are known as artificial kidneys and dialysis machines. Dialysis machines are basically a large apparatus that functions as a kidney for the person using them. The process is long and time consuming, as well as costly to run. The basic premise is that the patient that is experiencing renal failure connects themselves to the machine in such a way that their blood is pumped into the machine and consequently filtered mechanically. The problems with this method are numerous and border the impractical. Researchers from Ann Arbor Michigan hope to forego all the hassle of dialysis machines by introducing the first artificial kidney. The artificial kidney that this research team developed and tested will be the first completely implanted inbody artificial filtering device of its kind. More will be explained concerning the description and limitations of this device later. The main focus of this paper will be to examine the overall advantages and disadvantages of using artificial kidneys in relation to proximal convoluted tubule cells of normal functioning kidneys. Once an assessment is performed on the effectiveness of the artificial kidney cells, then conclusions will be drawn concerning the overall practicality of the artificial kidney itself.
The Kidney: A roadmap of the renal pathways
The actual functional units of the kidney are known as nephrons (Kimball, 2005, 2). Each nephron is made up of what is known as the Bowman’s capsule and a tri-sectioned coiled tubule made up of the proximal convoluted tubule, the loop of Henle, and the distal convoluted tubules (Kimball, 2005, 2). Each of the tubules present in the various nephrons of the kidney empty into the collecting tubules, which in turn empty into the main cavern of the kidney known as the pelvis (Kimball, 2005, 2). From here ducts known as ureters empty into the urinary bladder for storage until the wastes can be excreted through the urethra for expulsion from the body (Kimball, 2005, 2). The nephrons act as the filters for the kidneys. Large veins known as the renal veins pass the blood through the kidneys and the nephrons so that the toxins present in the blood may be drawn out and passed throughout the urinary tract. The body excretes these toxins in what is known as urine, a very diluted form of acid (Keeton and Gould, 1986, 368). There are normally two kidneys present in each human being, but only one is needed to perform the blood filtration needed for life processes. In the case of renal failure of one kidney, oftentimes the renal veins can be rerouted so that the one good kidney can filter the blood for the entire body. Unfortunately, this method does not always work due to double renal failure or other problems out of the individual’s control. These cases are prime instances when an artificial kidney would be very beneficial because the patient would not be required to be located near a dialysis center or to endure time consuming procedures simply to be able to filter normally.
The Artificial Kidney
The artificial kidney that was developed by the researchers in Ann Arbor, Michigan used actual cells from a real kidney to filter an individual’s “dirty” blood. These cells were harvested from healthy bovine kidneys and then placed inside of the artificial kidney shell. This allows the cells from a real kidney to filter the blood just as a natural kidney would. There are obvious advantages to this system, including not being required to take dialysis treatments, living a more “normal” lifestyle, and having the blood filtered naturally. However, there are still a few disadvantages to the use of an artificial kidney. The proximal convoluted cells work not by filtering out the toxins of the blood, but filtering out the materials in the blood that are still useful (Tamarkin, 2004,3). This then leaves all of the toxins and poisons in the now filtered blood to be expelled as urine (Tamarkin, 2004,3). All of the tests that were run by the researchers from the University of Michigan were on dogs. It is possible that this type of kidney replacement would not work on humans. While the proximal convoluted cells that are being used in the artificial kidney all come from pigs, the rest of the kidney is manmade and could possibly fail. There is a possibility (though slim) that the body could reject the artificial kidney just as some real kidney implants are rejected.
Overall, it is evident that the artificial kidney that the researchers of the University of Michigan is the next step in the quest for a cure for kidney failure. The best option, of course, is to actually find a donor kidney so that another human kidney may be implanted with a low chance of rejection. Whether or not the artificial kidney is ready for distribution does not make a difference. What does make a difference is that research is being performed looking into the development of a device that will outperform dialysis machines in convenience, effectiveness, and ease of use. This research is necessary for the advancement of medicine as well as a better quality of life for renal failure patients.
Literature Cited
Kimball J. 2005. The Kidney. Available: http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet. pg. 1-5.
Tamarkin DA. 2004. Proximal Convoluted Tubules. Available: http://distance.stcc.edu/AandP. Pg. 1-4.
Keeton WT and Gould JL. 1986. Biological Science: Fourth Edition. WW Norton and Company: New York, NY. Pg. 366-377.
Landis WG and Yu M. 1999. Introduction to Environmental Toxicology: Impacts of Chemicals Upon Ecological Systems, Second Edition. Lewis Publishers: New York, NY. Pg. 1-390.
Biology Essays - Find your free biology essays...
We have a large assortment of free essays available to use as research material. Visit our biology essays from our free essays section.
All of the essays in the "Free Essays" section were written by students and then submitted to us to display and help others. Thanks to all the students who have submitted their essays to us. You should not hand in our essays as your own. We do not condone plagiarism!
UK Essays Sitemaps
UKEssays.com RSS Feed
