alleryStart learning →Why is ammonia rarely detected in a fresh urine sample?
AAmmonia is destroyed by kidney enzymes
BAmmonia is reabsorbed by collecting ducts
CAmmonia is bound to urochrome in bladder
DMost ammonia is converted to urea by liver
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Most ammonia is converted to urea by liver
1. Protein breakdown releases ammonia into the circulation.
2. The liver converts most of that ammonia into urea, which is far less toxic.
3. Urea, not ammonia, is therefore the nitrogen waste that reaches fresh urine in quantity.
4. The kidney does secrete ammonium, but the bulk conversion step that keeps free ammonia low happens in the liver, not the tubule.
_Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology (CC BY 4.0), Ch 25 "The Urinary System", section 25.1 Physical Characteristics of Urine_
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