Biology · Excretory Products and Their Elimination · NEET
Yes. NCERT gives them as two names for the same structure: "Glomerulus alongwith Bowman's capsule, is called the malpighian body or renal corpuscle." So Malpighian body = renal corpuscle = glomerulus + Bowman's capsule. NEET can use either name in a question, so treat them as identical.
The glomerulus is a tuft (bunch) of capillaries formed by the afferent arteriole; blood is filtered here. Bowman's capsule is the double-walled, cup-like start of the renal tubule that encloses the glomerulus and collects the filtrate. Simple way: glomerulus = the blood vessels that leak fluid; Bowman's capsule = the container that catches that fluid. Together they form the Malpighian body.
No, and this is a common NEET trap. The Malpighian body (renal corpuscle) is part of the human nephron in the kidney. Malpighian tubules are excretory organs of insects like the cockroach. The names sound alike but the structures and animals are totally different. Watch the wording in the question.
It carries out the first step of urine formation: glomerular filtration (ultrafiltration). Blood under pressure in the glomerulus is filtered through three layers into Bowman's capsule, forming a protein-free filtrate. Reabsorption and secretion happen later in the tubule, not here.
In the cortex (outer region) of the kidney. NCERT states the Malpighian corpuscle, PCT and DCT lie in the cortical region, while the loop of Henle dips into the medulla. So if a question asks which nephron parts are cortical, the Malpighian body is one of them.
Match the items given in Column I with those in Column II and select the correct option. Column I (Function): a. Ultrafiltration, b. Concentration of urine, c. Transport of urine, d. Storage of urine. Column II (Part): i. Henle's loop, ii. Ureter, iii. Urinary bladder, iv. Malpighian corpuscle, v. Proximal convoluted tubule.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
It is named after Marcello Malpighi, the scientist who first described these microscopic kidney structures. NCERT also lists renal corpuscle as an equal alternative name.
Three layers: the endothelium of the glomerular capillaries, the epithelium of Bowman's capsule (podocytes), and a basement membrane between them. Blood is filtered so finely that the filtrate is almost protein-free.
No. The Malpighian body only performs filtration. Reabsorption of useful substances happens later in the PCT, loop of Henle, DCT and collecting duct.
No. The fluid entering Bowman's capsule is glomerular filtrate, not final urine. Around 99% of it is reabsorbed as it flows through the tubule. Final urine is only about 1.5 litres from 180 litres of filtrate per day.
It is a high-frequency topic. NEET repeatedly tests that Malpighian body = glomerulus + Bowman's capsule, that it is the ultrafiltration site, that it lies in the cortex, and it confuses students with Malpighian tubules of insects.
