The renal pelvis

Abstract

The mammalian renal pelvis makes it possible for urine to contact the epithelial covering of the inner and outer medulla, and the peristaltic contractions of the muscular pelvic wall exerts a rhythmic pumping action on the renal papilla. The functional significance of these two aspects of the renal pelvis have in recent years become the focus of attention by some renal physiologists and are reviewed here.