Distal convoluted tubule (magnified)
Tubulus contortus distalis
UrinaryOrgansWhole body
- What it is
- Short coiled tubule in the cortex that begins at the macula densa, where the tubule touches its own glomerulus to form the juxtaglomerular apparatus, and drains via a connecting tubule into a collecting duct.
- Function
- Fine-tunes sodium, chloride and calcium reabsorption (thiazide-sensitive NCC cotransporter; calcium under parathyroid hormone control).
- Size
- About 5 mm long.
- Clinical note
- The macula densa senses tubular salt and signals the neighbouring cells to release renin when it falls.