There are two renal veins, a left and a right. They branch off the inferior vena cava and drain oxygen-depleted blood from the kidneys. As they enter…. There are two blood vessels leading off from the abdominal aorta that go to the kidneys.
The renal artery is one of these two blood vessels. The renal…. They also play a role in regulating important components of the blood. Oxygenated blood….
The jejunum is one of three sections that make up the small intestine. Learn about its function and anatomy, as well as the conditions that can affect…. The vagus nerve is the longest of the 12 cranial nerves. Here, learn about its anatomy, functions, and the kinds of health problems that can occur.
The fimbriae of the uterine tube, also known as fimbriae tubae, are small, fingerlike projections at the end of the fallopian tubes, through which…. The bladder, like the stomach, is an expandable saclike organ that contracts when it is empty. The inner lining of the bladder tucks into the folds…. Combined with the cardiovascular system, the circulatory system helps to fight off disease, helps the body maintain a normal body temperature, and….
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Kidney Overview. Medically reviewed by Carissa Stephens, R. The kidneys perform many crucial functions, including: maintaining overall fluid balance regulating and filtering minerals from blood filtering waste materials from food, medications, and toxic substances creating hormones that help produce red blood cells, promote bone health, and regulate blood pressure.
Renal corpuscle After blood enters a nephron, it goes into the renal corpuscle, also called a Malpighian body. The renal corpuscle contains two additional structures: The glomerulus. This is a cluster of capillaries that absorb protein from blood traveling through the renal corpuscle. The Bowman capsule. The remaining fluid, called capsular urine, passes through the Bowman capsule into the renal tubules.
Renal tubules The renal tubules are a series of tubes that begin after the Bowman capsule and end at collecting ducts. Each tubule has several parts: Proximal convoluted tubule.
This section absorbs water, sodium, and glucose back into the blood. Loop of Henle. This section further absorbs potassium, chloride, and sodium into the blood. Distal convoluted tubule. This section absorbs more sodium into the blood and takes in potassium and acid.
Renal cortex. Renal medulla. Renal pyramids Renal pyramids are small structures that contain strings of nephrons and tubules. Once in the collecting duct, the fluid moves on to its final stops in the renal pelvis. Renal pelvis. It functions as a pathway for fluid on its way to the bladder Calyces The first part of the renal pelvis contains the calyces. Hilum The hilum is a small opening located on the inner edge of the kidney, where it curves inward to create its distinct beanlike shape.
Below you will find more information about the kidneys and the vital role they play in keeping your body functioning. There are two kidneys, each about the size of a fist, located on either side of the spine at the lowest level of the rib cage. Each kidney contains up to a million functioning units called nephrons.
A nephron consists of a filtering unit of tiny blood vessels called a glomerulus attached to a tubule. When blood enters the glomerulus, it is filtered and the remaining fluid then passes along the tubule.
In the tubule, chemicals and water are either added to or removed from this filtered fluid according to the body's needs, the final product being the urine we excrete. The kidneys perform their life-sustaining job of filtering and returning to the bloodstream about quarts of fluid every 24 hours.
About two quarts are removed from the body in the form of urine, and about quarts are recovered. The urine we excrete has been stored in the bladder for anywhere from 1 to 8 hours. Chronic kidney disease is defined as having some type of kidney abnormality, or "marker", such as protein in the urine and having decreased kidney function for three months or longer. There are many causes of chronic kidney disease. The kidneys may be affected by diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Some kidney conditions are inherited run in families. Others are congenital; that is, individuals may be born with an abnormality that can affect their kidneys. The following are some of the most common types and causes of kidney damage. Diabetes is a disease in which your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use normal amounts of insulin properly. This results in a high blood sugar level, which can cause problems in many parts of your body.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease. High blood pressure also known as hypertension is another common cause of kidney disease and other complications such as heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure occurs when the force of blood against your artery walls increases. When high blood pressure is controlled, the risk of complications such as chronic kidney disease is decreased.
Glomerulonephritis is a disease that causes inflammation of the kidney's tiny filtering units called the glomeruli. Glomerulonephritis may happen suddenly, for example, after a strep throat, and the individual may get well again.
However, the disease may develop slowly over several years and it may cause progressive loss of kidney function. Polycystic kidney disease is the most common inherited kidney disease. It is characterized by the formation of kidney cysts that enlarge over time and may cause serious kidney damage and even kidney failure. Other inherited diseases that affect the kidneys include Alport's Syndrome,primary hyperoxaluria and cystinuria.
They are also responsible for the reabsorption of water, glucose, and amino acids, and will maintain the balance of these molecules in the body. In addition, the kidneys produce hormones including calcitriol, erythropoietin, and the enzyme renin, which are involved in renal and hemotological physiological processes. The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped, brown organs about the size of your fist.
They are covered by the renal capsule, which is a tough capsule of fibrous connective tissue. Adhering to the surface of each kidney are two layers of fat to help cushion them. The asymmetry within the abdominal cavity caused by the liver typically results in the right kidney being slightly lower than the left, and left kidney being located slightly more medial than the right. The right kidney sits just below the diaphragm and posterior to the liver, the left below the diaphragm and posterior to the spleen.
The kidneys : Human kidneys viewed from behind with the spine removed. Resting on top of each kidney is an adrenal gland adrenal meaning on top of renal , which are involved in some renal system processes despite being a primarily endocrine organ. The upper parts of the kidneys are partially protected by lower ribs, and each whole kidney and adrenal gland are surrounded by two layers of fat the perirenal and pararenal fat and the renal fascia. The kidneys are located at the rear wall of the abdominal cavity just above the waistline and are protected by the ribcage.
They are considered retroperitoneal, which means that they lie behind the peritoneum, the membrane lining of the abdominal cavity. There are a number of important external structures connecting the kidneys to the rest of the body. The renal artery branches off from the lower part of the aorta and provides the blood supply to the kidneys.
Renal veins take blood away from the kidneys into the inferior vena cava. The ureters are structures that come out of the kidneys, bringing urine downward into the bladder. The cortex and medulla make up two of the internal layers of a kidney and are composed of individual filtering units known as nephrons. The renal cortex is a space between the medulla and the outer capsule.
The renal medulla contains the majority of the length of nephrons, the main functional component of the kidney that filters fluid from blood. The renal pelvis connects the kidney with the circulatory and nervous systems from the rest of the body. The kidneys are surrounded by a renal cortex, a layer of tissue that is also covered by renal fascia connective tissue and the renal capsule. The renal cortex is granular tissue due to the presence of nephrons—the functional unit of the kidney—that are located deeper within the kidney, within the renal pyramids of the medulla.
The cortex provides a space for arterioles and venules from the renal artery and vein, as well as the glomerular capillaries, to perfuse the nephrons of the kidney. Erythropotein, a hormone necessary for the synthesis of new red blood cells, is also produced in the renal cortex.
Kidney structure : The kidney is made up of three main areas: the outer cortex, a medulla in the middle, and the renal pelvis. The medulla is the inner region of the parenchyma of the kidney. The medulla consists of multiple pyramidal tissue masses, called the renal pyramids, which are triangle structures that contain a dense network of nephrons.
It surrounds a tuft of capillaries called the glomerulus that carries blood from the renal arteries into the nephron, where plasma is filtered through the capsule. After entering the capsule, the filtered fluid flows along the proximal convoluted tubule to the loop of Henle and then to the distal convoluted tubule and the collecting ducts, which flow into the ureter.
Each of the different components of the nephrons are selectively permeable to different molecules, and enable the complex regulation of water and ion concentrations in the body. The renal pelvis contains the hilium.
The hilum is the concave part of the bean-shape where blood vessels and nerves enter and exit the kidney; it is also the point of exit for the ureters—the urine-bearing tubes that exit the kidney and empty into the urinary bladder. The renal pelvis connects the kidney to the rest of the body. Because the kidney filters blood, its network of blood vessels is an important component of its structure and function.
The arteries, veins, and nerves that supply the kidney enter and exit at the renal hilum. The renal arteries branch off of the abdominal aorta and supply the kidneys with blood. The arterial supply of the kidneys is variable from person to person, and there may be one or more renal arteries supplying each kidney. Due to the position of the aorta, the inferior vena cava, and the kidneys in the body, the right renal artery is normally longer than the left renal artery.
The renal arteries carry a large portion of the total blood flow to the kidneys—up to a third of the total cardiac output can pass through the renal arteries to be filtered by the kidneys. Renal blood supply starts with the branching of the aorta into the renal arteries which are each named based on the region of the kidney they pass through and ends with the exiting of the renal veins to join the inferior vena cava.
The renal arteries split into several segmental arteries upon entering the kidneys, which then split into several arterioles. The renal veins are the veins that drain the kidneys and connect them to the inferior vena cava.
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