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The term that describes a tiny ball of microscopic blood vessels at the end of the renal tubules is "glomeruli." Glomeruli are essential components of the kidney's filtration system, located within the nephrons. They are responsible for filtering blood to form urine and are made up of a network of capillaries that allow water, ions, and small molecules to pass while retaining larger molecules like proteins and blood cells.
This tubular structure is crucial because it plays a pivotal role in kidney function, allowing for efficient filtration of waste products and the regulation of electrolytes and fluid balance in the body. Understanding the structure and function of glomeruli is essential in pharmacology and physiology, especially in contexts related to kidney diseases and conditions affecting renal function.
The other terms—nephelectomy, nephrons, and renal corpuscle—while related to kidney function, do not specifically refer to the ball of blood vessels. Nephelectomy refers to the surgical removal of a kidney, nephrons are the functional units of the kidney that include the glomeruli as well as tubules, and the renal corpuscle encompasses the glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule but is a broader term that does not exclusively identify the microscopic blood vessel ball