Nephrons a. Nephrons are microscopic, sometimes called renal or kidney tubules. Each kidney contains over one million nephrons. Several nephrons enter one collecting duct. Anatomy of a Nephron Blood Flow Through Nephron a. Renal artery brings blood in.
Afferent arteriole leads to glomerulus, a tuft of capillaries.
This first capillary region is inside glomerular capsule. Efferent arteriole leaves glomerulus. Peritubular capillary surrounds rest of nephron. Inner layer of capsule is made of podocytes with long cytoplasmic processes. Podocytes cling to capillary walls leaving pores allowing easy passage for small molecules.