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Renal & Urinary Systems — USMLE Step 1 practice questions

16 multiple-choice questions and 6 flashcards on Renal & Urinary Systems, about 9% of the USMLE Step 1 bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by Nick Burton · last updated 2026-08-22 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Renal & Urinary Systems is one of 10 chapters in CoStudy's USMLE Step 1 — Medical Licensing bank, and it holds 16 of the bank's 172 multiple-choice questions — roughly 9% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Renal & Urinary Systems practice questions

1 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

Where in the nephron is most filtered glucose normally reabsorbed?

  1. Proximal convoluted tubule (PCT)
  2. Thin descending limb of loop of Henle
  3. Distal convoluted tubule
  4. Collecting duct

Answer: A — Proximal convoluted tubule (PCT)

The PCT reabsorbs ~100% of filtered glucose via SGLT2 (apical) and GLUT2 (basolateral). When plasma glucose exceeds ~180 mg/dL, the transporters saturate and glucose appears in urine (glycosuria) — the basis of SGLT2 inhibitor pharmacology.

Renal & Urinary Systems flashcards

3 cards from the 6 in this chapter.

Nephrotic syndrome features?

Massive proteinuria (>3.5g/day), hypoalbuminemia, edema, hyperlipidemia.

Renal artery stenosis?

HTN unresponsive to meds. Bruits. Treat: ACE-I/ARB cautiously (can worsen GFR).

GFR formula?

Cockcroft-Gault or MDRD or CKD-EPI. Estimates kidney function.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Renal & Urinary Systems chapter runs 22 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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