Nephron
- CBSE · NCERT Class 10, Ch 5 Life Processes
- ICSE Class 10, Unit 3 Human Anatomy and Physiology
A nephron is one of the many tiny filtering units in a kidney; it cleans the blood of waste such as urea and makes urine.
Each kidney is made of a very large number of nephrons. The nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney. Blood is cleaned in each one, in the same order:
- Bowman's capsule: a cup round a knot of capillaries, the glomerulus. Liquid is filtered out of the blood here, a step called ultrafiltration.
- Proximal convoluted tubule: a coiled tube. Glucose, salts and other useful things go back into the blood.
- Loop of Henle: a U-shaped bend. More water goes back.
- Distal convoluted tubule, then the collecting duct, which carries urine on towards the ureter.
A small example
Follow two substances. Glucose and urea both leave the blood in the capsule. Glucose goes back into the blood along the tube, so healthy urine has none. Urea stays in the tube and leaves the body in urine.
Where marks go
In CBSE, Question 3 of the 2026-27 Science sample paper asks which pair of substances the kidneys take back into the blood. The board's marking scheme gives its 1 mark to glucose and salts.
In ICSE, the 2025 Biology paper asked how a nephron differs from a neuron, two words that look alike. In CISCE's report on the 2025 Biology paper, the marking scheme gives one line for each. The nephron is the unit of the kidney. The neuron is the unit of the nervous system.
Order questions come up too. The 2024 paper wanted the first four parts above in order. Learn each part with its job, not just its name.
Sources
Facts last checked against these sources on 30 September 2026.
- Science, Class X (2026-27), Chapter 5: Life Processes · NCERT
- Science (086) Marking Scheme, Class X 2026-27 - Question 3 · CBSE Academic Unit
- Science (086) Sample Question Paper, Class X 2026-27 - Question 3 · CBSE Academic Unit
- ICSE Biology syllabus, Examination Year 2028 (January 2026) - Class X, Unit 3 · CISCE
- ICSE Analysis of Pupil Performance: Biology (October 2025) - Question 8(ii) · CISCE
- ICSE 2024 Analysis of Pupil Performance: Biology - Question 2(ii)(d) · CISCE
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