Ramon Ocadiz, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow (Merchant Laboratory), Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School

The kidney filters our blood, allowing water and small molecules to be eliminated while retaining blood cells and large proteins. The actual filtration device is called a glomerulus. There are about 1 million glomeruli in each human kidney; each one contains a blood capillary through which blood flows at high pressure. This is a section of a mouse kidney.  The glomerulus in this image is somewhat distorted by the tissue preparation so that it resembles a screaming face. Interestingly, the picture was taken on Halloween in 2014!

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