Question

Malpighian/Bowmans/renal corpuscles occur in:
(a) Medulla
(b) Cortex
(c) Pelvis
(d) Pyramid

Answer 1

Hint: The kidney is the main organ of the excretory system. The outer layer is a tough capsule and inside it comprises two zones, an outer cortex, and an inner medulla. The structural and functional unit of kidneys are called nephrons.

Complete solution:
The medulla of the kidney is divided into a few conical masses which are called medullary pyramids which project into the calyces. The cortex extends in between the medullary pyramids as renal columns which are called Columns of Bertini.
There are nearly one million nephrons in kidneys.
A nephron is divided into two parts- Glomerulus and the renal tubule.
A tuft of capillaries formed by the afferent arteriole is the glomerulus. The blood from the glomerulus is carried away by an efferent arteriole.
The renal tubule begins with Bowman’s capsule which is a double-walled cup-like structure that encloses the glomerulus. Glomerulus along with Bowman’s capsule is called renal corpuscle or malpighian body. The tubule continues further to form a highly coiled network which is called the Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT). The next part of PCT is called Henle’s loop which comprises a descending and an ascending limb. The ascending limb leads to another highly coiled tubular region called Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT). DCTs of many other nephrons open into the collecting duct which is a straight tube that converges and opens into the renal pelvis through medullary pyramids in the calyces.

Additional information:
Cortical nephrons are the nephrons in which the loop of Henle is very short and extends very little into the medulla.
Juxta medullary nephrons are the nephrons in which the loop of Henle is very long and runs deep into the medulla.

So, the correct answer is ‘Cortex’.

Note:
The cortical region of the kidney constitutes the Malpighian corpuscles, Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT), and Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT) of the nephron whereas the loop of Henle dips into the medullary region of the kidney.