In the kidney, blood is filtered in a ball of capillaries called the glomerulus. Water and small solutes are forced through a three-layer filter into Bowman's capsule, while blood cells and large proteins stay behind.
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The efferent arteriole is narrower than the afferent one, which keeps the pressure high enough to filter.
Podocyte foot processes leave filtration slits that act as the final sieve.
The filtrate then flows to the proximal tubule, where most water and nutrients are reabsorbed.
