Tendrils of Nerves in the Kidney

What am I looking at?

This image highlights the nerves and the collecting duct system in an embryonic mouse kidney. In yellow, you can see the network of collecting duct tubes that run throughout the kidney (1). The blue mass on the left (2), which is sending blue-green projections into the kidney, is a group of neurons called a ganglion.

Biology in the background

The kidneys are responsible for removing waste and excess fluid from the body and keeping the amount of water, salt, and minerals in balance through a process called electrolyte homeostasis. This balance plays a role in blood pressure maintenance, red blood cell production, and feelings of hunger and thirst. The nerves in the kidney regulate blood flow to the kidney, how fast the blood is filtered, how much water and salt are removed from the blood, and many other essential functions. The fluid and waste that the kidney removes are gathered in the collecting duct and funneled to the bladder.

In an adult human, a kidney is about 12 centimeters long and 8 centimeters wide, or roughly six times the size of a human thumbnail in length and four times the size of a human thumbnail in width. This embryonic mouse kidney is about 900 micrometers long and 400 micrometers wide, or roughly 12 times the width of a human hair by five times the width of a human hair.

Technique

This image was created using fluorescence microscopy.