archinephros

anatomy

The archinephros is the ancestor of all vertebrates. Hagfish larvae and some caecilians retain it, and higher animals retain it in their embryos. The archinephric ducts, also known as Wolffian ducts, are found between the body cavity and the back. The Wolffian ducts are connected to the body cavity by tubules, one pair for each segment. Throughout the body, tubules are ciliated where they open into the body cavity, and a knot of capillaries is present at each of these openings, which are known as nephrostomes.

A vertebrate's kidneys are composed of three types: the pronephros, the mesonephros, and the metanephros.

archinephros

anatomy

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