key term - Bowman’s capsule

Definition

Bowman's capsule is a cup-like sac at the beginning of the tubular component of a nephron in the mammalian kidney that performs the first step in the filtration of blood to form urine. It encases the glomerulus and is involved in filtering blood plasma.

Related terms

Nephron:

The functional unit of the kidney, responsible for filtering and excreting waste products from the blood.

Glomerulus: A network of capillaries encased in Bowman’s capsule, where blood filtration begins.

Filtrate: The liquid that has passed through a filter, which in this context refers to the substance filtered out of the blood by Bowman's capsule