The section of the renal tubule in the kidney medulla with a hairpin bend; consists of a descending limb and an ascending limb, and is situated between the proximal convoluted tubule to the distal convoluted tubule; it functions to reabsorb water and ions from the urine. [ MP:0004755 http://www.informatics.jax.org/accession/csmith ]
Synonyms: ansa nephroni Henle loop Henle's loop
Term information
- Wikipedia:Loop_of_Henle
- EMAPA:19280
- GAID:437
- MA:0001675
- SCTID:361335009
- EV:0100390
- FMA:17698
- MESH:D008138
- NCIT:C33006
- BTO:0004608
- UMLS:C0023986 (ncithesaurus:Loop_of_Henle)
- VHOG:0001270
uberon_slim, pheno_slim
the definitions of some kidney parts (e.g. proximal straight tubule) refer to Henle's loop, even in species where this may not be present. Requires review.
A highly specialized segment of the mammalian kidney tubules, that dips into the medulla. [Bemis_WE, Functional_Anatomy_of_the_Vertebrates:_An_Evolutionary_Perspective, Grande_L, Third_Edition_(2001)_Orlando_Fla.:_Harcourt_College_Publishers, Walker_WF, p.648, see_Liem_KF][VHOG]
The loop of Henle plays an important role in creating a concentration gradient in the medulla of the kidney. It is involved in reabsorption of filtered water and ions including sodium, potassium and calcium, and independently regulates both the volume and osmolarity of body fluids.
The structure differs considerably between species; there is a definite physical loop of Henle in the mammalian and avian renal systems but this seems to be absent in Xenopus. However, homologs of some, but not all, molecular markers (e.g. cldn8 and clcnk) of the mammalian loop of Henle were found to be present in the pronephros of the frog larva .
Term relations
- region of nephron tubule and continuous with some proximal convoluted tubule and continuous with some distal convoluted tubule