Thick ascending limb of Henle's loop

MB Burg - Kidney international, 1982 - Elsevier
MB Burg
Kidney international, 1982Elsevier
The first direct studies of thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop were made in 1966 [1]. At that
time, the studies utilized a recently described technique for dissecting renal tubules from
fresh rabbit kidneys [2]. Cellular content and exchange of sodium and potassium were
measured. Seven years later this segment was first perfused in vitro [3, 4], and active
chloride absorption was observed. Later, an apparently identical transport system was
discovered in amphibia [5] and fresh water teleosts [6] in their distal tubules (“diluting …
The first direct studies of thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop were made in 1966 [1]. At that time, the studies utilized a recently described technique for dissecting renal tubules from fresh rabbit kidneys [2]. Cellular content and exchange of sodium and potassium were measured. Seven years later this segment was first perfused in vitro [3, 4], and active chloride absorption was observed. Later, an apparently identical transport system was discovered in amphibia [5] and fresh water teleosts [6] in their distal tubules (“diluting segments”). The conservation of this specialized system of active chloride transport through the evolutionary process suggests an important function. In the following I summarize the direct studies that have been published on thick ascending limbs and diluting segments to analyze the transport mechanisms involved and speculate on their functional significance.
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