Master Renal and Respiratory Physiology: 119 Flashcards on Nephrons, Hormones, Lung Volumes and Blood Gases
Study guide for the Renal & Respiratory Physiology flashcard deck: nephron path, kidney hormones, lung volumes, partial pressures and altitude, with real cards.
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Renal and respiratory physiology are the two systems that decide what your blood looks like: how much water it holds, how acidic it is, how much oxygen and CO₂ it carries. They are also where physiology students drown in numbers. The Renal & Respiratory Physiology deck on Flip It (deck code QM0895, 119 cards) turns those numbers into a memorization problem you can actually finish.
Study this deck: Renal & Respiratory Physiology
1 / 10Primary function of the kidneys
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
What the 119 cards cover
Roughly the first 60 cards are the kidney, the rest are the lungs. You'll memorize: nephron, glomerulus, renal corpuscle, renal cortex and medulla, renal pyramids, renal columns, minor and major calyces, renal hilum, afferent arteriole, podocytes, juxtaglomerular cells, loop of Henle, countercurrent multiplication, filtration/reabsorption/secretion/excretion, Na⁺/glucose cotransporter, glucosuria threshold, erythropoietin, calcitriol, renin, renin-angiotensin system, aldosterone, ADH and aquaporins, PTH, Hartnup disease, uromodulin, nephrogenesis, eGFR, CKD, dialysis.
Then: alveoli, trachea and bronchi, bronchioles, 23 branching generations, tidal volume, residual volume, functional residual capacity, dead space, diaphragm and intercostals, pump-handle movement, hyperpnea, clavicular breathing, Valsalva maneuver, blood-air barrier, partial pressures of O₂ and CO₂, carbonic anhydrase, central and peripheral chemoreceptors, altitude and hematocrit, pulmonary surfactant, atelectasis, respiratory acidosis and alkalosis.
Sample cards from the deck
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| What percentage of cardiac output do the kidneys receive? | Approximately 20-25% in adult humans |
| How much filtrate does the adult kidney generate per day? | About 180 liters, most of which is reabsorbed |
| At what plasma glucose level does glucosuria appear? | Approximately 160 mg/dL |
| Role of aldosterone in kidney function | Regulates sodium reabsorption in exchange for potassium and hydrogen ions in the collecting duct |
| Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) | Vasopressin; acts on V2 receptors to insert aquaporins in collecting tubule cells |
| Partial pressure of CO₂ in alveolar air | About 5.3 kPa (40 mm Hg) |
| How many alveoli are in the human lungs? | About 300 million |
| What primarily determines breathing rate at sea level? | Arterial partial pressure of CO₂, not oxygen |
| Three effects of surfactant | Makes lungs more compliant, prevents alveolar collapse, keeps alveoli dry |
| Atmospheric pressure at the summit of Mt. Everest | 33.7 kPa, of which 7.1 kPa (21%) is oxygen |
How to memorize this deck
Follow the drop of filtrate. The renal cards are easiest to retain in anatomical order rather than alphabetically: renal artery → afferent arteriole → glomerulus → proximal tubule (55% of water, all glucose) → loop of Henle (countercurrent) → distal tubule (PTH, calcium) → collecting duct (aldosterone, ADH) → papilla → minor calyx → major calyx → renal pelvis → ureter. Each hormone card then has a fixed address on that path, which is what exam questions test.
Pair the numbers that are equal on both sides. Alveolar air and arterial blood share the same values: O₂ 13-14 kPa (100 mmHg), CO₂ 5.3 kPa (40 mmHg). Ambient air is 21 kPa O₂ and 0.04 kPa CO₂. Learning them as two pairs instead of six isolated figures halves the load, and the "why" card (functional residual capacity sits in dead-end sacs) explains the gap.
Use the kidney-lung bridge. Two cards appear in both halves: erythropoietin (kidney hormone, altitude response) and acid-base balance (kidney reabsorbs bicarbonate, lungs blow off CO₂). Review them together; they are the classic integration questions.
Study plan
Split the deck at the "Respiratory system" card. Three sessions on the kidney block, three on the lungs, then a mixed session where Flip It shuffles all 119. Cards you miss twice (usually the volumes: tidal 500 mL, residual 1.0-1.5 L, FRC 2.5-3.0 L) go into a daily five-minute review until they stick.
If you are building the same medical foundation, the head, neck and spine anatomy study guide and the USMLE Step 1 deck pair well with this one.
Open Flip It, search the library for QM0895 — Renal & Respiratory Physiology, and start flipping.
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