Word parts
What it means
Each kidney has about a million nephrons, and each begins with a glomerulus that filters water and waste out of the blood. The glomerular filtration rategloh-MER-yuh-ler fil-TRAY-shun RAYTHow much blood the kidneys filter each minute, used as the main measure of kidney function.Full entry (GFR) measures how much blood the kidneys filter each minute and is the main measure of kidney function. Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of the glomeruli.
Related terms
glomerular filtration rate
How much blood the kidneys filter each minute, used as the main measure of kidney function.
nephron
The tiny filtering unit of the kidney, where blood is filtered and urine is made.
glomerul/o
A word root that means glomerulus, the tiny ball of capillaries in the kidney that filters the blood.
glomerulonephritis
Inflammation of the glomeruli, the tiny filtering units of the kidneys.