What is the process of ultrafiltration?

The first step in urine formation is the filtration of blood, which is carried out by the glomerulus and is called glomerular filtration. On an average, 1100-1200 ml of blood is filtered by the kidneys per minute which constitute roughly 1/5th of the blood pumped out by each ventricle of the heart in a minute. The glomerular capillary blood pressure causes filtration of blood through 3 layers, i.e., the endothelium of glomerular blood vessels, the epithelium of Bowman’s capsule and a basement membrane between these two layers. The epithelial cells of Bowman’s capsule called podocytes are arranged in an intricate manner so as to leave some minute spaces called filtration slits or slit pores. Blood is filtered so finely through these membranes, that almost all the constituents of the plasma except the proteins pass onto the lumen of the Bowman’s capsule. Therefore, it is considered as a process of ultra filtration.