Kidney

FACTS: Your two kidneys are bean-shaped organs in your upper abdomen. They are large filters within the urinary system that perform many functions. The kidneys main job is filtering blood to remove toxins, waste and excess water. Nearly 2,000 liters of blood passes though the kidneys each day!

Kidney functions, diseases and components often have the prefix “nephro” or “rene”. For example, the renal artery brings blood to the kidneys and nephrosis is the general term for kidney disease. Greek for kidney is nephron, which is also the basic filtration unit of the organ. Each kidney has about one-million nephrons. Nephrons have renal tubules and blood-filtering capillaries called glomerulus. Glomerulus are tiny knots of blood vessels that filter waste from the bloodstream. As blood flows through the glomerulus, water and molecules pass through the sieve into the renal tubules. This excess water and waste pass into the kidneys’ collecting ducts and then flow into the bladder. Useful chemicals are reabsorbed, and the rest are sent to the bladder as urine.

While you and your brain may not like cleaning chores, you should be thankful that your kidneys do. Every minute of every day and night they are there for you, cleaning your blood and keeping your body’s fluids in balance.