Nephron
/ˈnɛfrɒn/noun
The microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney that filters blood and forms urine.
Did you know?Nephron comes from the same Greek root as nephritis and nephrology, and that root ultimately goes back to a Proto-Indo-European word for the kidney, not a mystical term despite its eerie sound.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₃nebh-
“kidney, especially the kidney as an internal organ”
Ancient Greek
Greek
nephrós (νεφρός)
“kidney”
Late Greek
Greek
nephr- + -on
“a kidney-related anatomical term built on the Greek root”
Late 19th Century
English
nephron
“the minute structural unit of the kidney”
Modern English
English
nephron
“the functional filtering unit of the kidney”
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