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Overview of Kidney Function and Health

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on the left and right sides of the body that filter blood and remove waste from it to produce urine. Each kidney contains approximately 1 million filtering units called nephrons. The kidneys perform critical functions like regulating fluid balance and removing toxins independently of the nephrons. Nephrology addresses diseases of kidney function, while urology focuses on diseases of kidney anatomy. Procedures to evaluate and manage kidney disease include urine tests, measuring kidney function, biopsies, imaging scans, dialysis, transplantation, and surgery to remove kidneys.

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49 views1 page

Overview of Kidney Function and Health

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on the left and right sides of the body that filter blood and remove waste from it to produce urine. Each kidney contains approximately 1 million filtering units called nephrons. The kidneys perform critical functions like regulating fluid balance and removing toxins independently of the nephrons. Nephrology addresses diseases of kidney function, while urology focuses on diseases of kidney anatomy. Procedures to evaluate and manage kidney disease include urine tests, measuring kidney function, biopsies, imaging scans, dialysis, transplantation, and surgery to remove kidneys.

Uploaded by

ANMOL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates.

They are located on the left and


right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about 12 centimetres (4 1⁄2 inches) in
length.[1][2] They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood exits into the paired renal
veins. Each kidney is attached to a ureter, a tube that carries excreted urine to the bladder.
The nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney. Each human adult kidney contains
around 1 million nephrons, while a mouse kidney contains only about 12,500 nephrons. The
kidney participates in the control of the volume of various body fluids, fluid osmolality, acid-base
balance, various electrolyte concentrations, and removal of toxins. Filtration occurs in
the glomerulus: one-fifth of the blood volume that enters the kidneys is filtered. Examples of
substances reabsorbed are solute-free water, sodium, bicarbonate, glucose, and amino acids.
Examples of substances secreted are hydrogen, ammonium, potassium and uric acid. The
kidneys also carry out functions independent of the nephron. For example, they convert a
precursor of vitamin D to its active form, calcitriol; and synthesize
the hormones erythropoietin and renin.
Renal physiology is the study of kidney function. Nephrology is the medical specialty which
addresses diseases of kidney function: these include chronic kidney
disease, nephritic and nephrotic syndromes, acute kidney injury,
and pyelonephritis. Urology addresses diseases of kidney (and urinary tract) anatomy: these
include cancer, renal cysts, kidney stones and ureteral stones, and urinary tract obstruction.[3]
Procedures used in the management of kidney disease include chemical and microscopic
examination of the urine (urinalysis), measurement of kidney function by calculating the
estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the serum creatinine; and kidney biopsy and CT
scan to evaluate for abnormal anatomy. Dialysis and kidney transplantation are used to
treat kidney failure; one (or both sequentially) of these are almost always used when renal
function drops below 15%. Nephrectomy is frequently used to cure renal cell carcinoma.

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