Evolution of the Kidney

Abstract

The excretory system regulates the chemical composition of body fluids by removing metabolic wastes and retaining the proper amount of water, salts and nutrients. The invertebrate excretory structures are classified in according to their marked variations in the morphological structures into three types included contractile vacuoles in protozoa, nephridia (flame cell system) in most invertebrate animals and Malpighian tubules (arthropod kidney) in insects [2]. There are three distinct excretory organs formed in succession during the development of the vertebrate kidney, they are called pronephros, mesonephros and metanephros. The pronephros is the most primitive one and exists as a functional kidney only in some of the lowest fishes and is called the archinephros. The mesonephros represents the functional excretory organs in anamniotes and called as opisthonephros. The metanephros is the most caudally located of the excretory organs and the last to appear, it represents the functional kidney in amniotes [2-4].