Quantitative analysis of functional reconstructions reveals lateral and axial zonation in the renal inner medulla

摘要

the highly organized three-dimensional architecture of the mammalian renal inner medulla (1M) underscores the important role structure likely plays in enabling the urinary concentrating mechanism (UCM) to proceed (13, 15-18). Mathematical models of the UCM provide insights into the functional contributions of spatial orientations of structural elements in the outer medulla (OM) and IM (4, 13, 22-25). These models have met with variable success in explaining the observed urine-concentrating ability, especially in the IM. Additional information about the details of renal architecture may permit modelers to suggest testable mechanisms that come closer to explaining the experimental observations.