Your kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of your fist. They are located near the middle of your back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines. Every day, your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to your bladder through tubes called ureters. Your bladder stores urine until you go to the bathroom.
The wastes in your blood come from the normal breakdown of active tissues and from the food you eat. Your body uses the food for energy and self-repair. After your body has taken what it needs from the food, waste is sent to the blood. If your kidneys did not remove these wastes, the wastes would build up in the blood and damage your body.
The actual filtering occurs in tiny units inside your kidneys called nephrons. Every kidney has about a million nephrons. In the nephron, a glomerulus—which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary—intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule. A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave your blood and enter your urinary system.
At first, the tubules receive a combination of waste materials and chemicals that your body can still use. Your kidneys measure out chemicals like sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and release them back to the blood to return to the body. In this way, your kidneys regulate the body’s level of these substances. The right balance is necessary for life, but excess levels can be harmful.
2006-12-14 16:22:18
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answer #1
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answered by Headshot 2
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2016-04-17 10:51:19
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answer #2
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answered by Maryann 3
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2016-09-23 22:18:35
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answer #3
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answered by Efrain 3
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kidneys are bean-shaped organs that serve several essential regulatory roles in vertebrates. They remove excess organic molecules from the blood, and it is by this action that their best-known function is performed: the removal of waste products of metabolism. Kidneys are essential to the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and regulation of blood pressure (via maintaining the salt and water balance). They serve the body as a natural filter of the blood, and remove water-soluble wastes which are diverted to the bladder. In producing urine, the kidneys excrete wastes such as urea and ammonium. They are also responsible for the reabsorption of water, glucose, and amino acids. The kidneys also produce hormones including calcitriol and erythropoietin. An important enzyme renin is also produced in the kidneys which acts in negative feedback.
Located at the rear of the abdominal cavity in the retroperitoneal space, the kidneys receive blood from the paired renal arteries, and drain into the paired renal veins. Each kidney excretes urine into a ureter which empties into the bladder.
Renal physiology is the study of kidney function, while nephrology is the medical specialty concerned with kidney diseases. Diseases of the kidney are diverse, but individuals with kidney disease frequently display characteristic clinical features. Common clinical conditions involving the kidney include the nephritic and nephrotic syndromes, renal cysts, acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, urinary tract infection, nephrolithiasis, and urinary tract obstruction.[1] Various cancers of the kidney exist. The most common adult renal cancer is renal cell carcinoma. Cancers, cysts, and some other renal conditions can be managed with removal of the kidney. This is known as nephrectomy. When renal function, measured by the glomerular filtration rate, is persistently poor, dialysis and kidney transplantation may be treatment options. Although they are not normally harmful, kidney stones can be extremely painful.
2016-01-13 07:46:10
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answer #4
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answered by isabella 1
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Your two kidneys are vital organs that perform many functions to keep your blood clean and chemically balanced. Understanding how your kidneys work can help you to keep them healthy
Your kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of your fist. They are located near the middle of your back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines. Every day, your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to your bladder through tubes called ureters. Your bladder stores urine until you go to the bathroom
The wastes in your blood come from the normal breakdown of active tissues and from the food you eat. Your body uses the food for energy and self-repair. After your body has taken what it needs from the food, waste is sent to the blood. If your kidneys did not remove these wastes, the wastes would build up in the blood and damage your body.
The actual filtering occurs in tiny units inside your kidneys called nephrons. Every kidney has about a million nephrons. In the nephron, a glomerulus—which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary—intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule. A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave your blood and enter your urinary system.
At first, the tubules receive a combination of waste materials and chemicals that your body can still use. Your kidneys measure out chemicals like sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and release them back to the blood to return to the body. In this way, your kidneys regulate the body’s level of these substances. The right balance is necessary for life, but excess levels can be harmful.
In addition to removing wastes, your kidneys release three important hormones:
erythropoietin (eh-RITH-ro-POY-eh-tin), or EPO, which stimulates the bone marrow to make red blood cells
renin (REE-nin), which regulates blood pressure
calcitriol (kal-suh-TRY-ul), the active form of vitamin D, which helps maintain calcium for bones and for normal chemical balance in the body
2006-12-14 18:51:10
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answer #5
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answered by veerabhadrasarma m 7
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They absorb the byproducts from cellular waste and secrete it into your bladder in the form of urine. Kidneys also have what are called adrenal glands on the top of each of them (part of the endocrine system) that produce several hormones like cortisteroids (for healing) and adrenaline (that familiar rush that you get when hyper, scared, or have extra stamina than normal like after drinking too much coffee).
2006-12-14 16:24:51
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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Kidney is the bean shaped organ and located below the rib cage. It is responsible for the removal of waste products from the body. It helps in the maintenance of the electrolytes level balanced such as sodium, potassium and phosphate.
2015-01-19 06:44:52
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answer #7
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answered by max 1
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Kidneys regulate the composition of your blood
keep the volume of water in your body constant
remove wastes from your body
keep the acid/base concentration of your blood constant
help regulate your blood pressure
Stimulate the making of red blood cells
and maintain your body's calcium levels !
2006-12-14 17:49:53
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answer #8
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answered by bravokardia 4
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Heal Kidney Disease Forever :
http://NaturallyGo.com
2015-04-10 15:55:39
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answer #9
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answered by ? 2
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you kidneys are bean shaped organs used to removed notrogenious waste products deigned to store urine
2013-10-30 11:35:49
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answer #10
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answered by Rasheda 1
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