The main function of the kidneys is to provide urine production and are bean shaped organs. The human body consists of two kidneys, and are located on either side of the spine, between the eleventh thoracic vertebra and the second to third lumbar vertebra, each kidney is approximately 12 centimeters long and weighs about 150 grams. The right kidney is located below the liver, while the left kidney is behind the spleen. Each kidney receives blood from a branch of the aorta, called the renal artery. The blood flows through the renal artery into progressively smaller ones, with the smallest of them being the arterioles. From here the blood flows into glomeruli which are tufts of microscopic blood vessels called capillaries. Then blood exits each of the glomerulus through an arteriole that connects to a small vein. These small veins then join to form a single large renal vein, which has the function to carry blood away from each of the kidneys.
What are the kidneys?
The kidneys are two small organs deputies that are to produce urine. They consist of an outer part, the cortex, and an inner part, the medulla. Each kidney is surrounded by a capsule resistant and inelastic formed by fibrous tissue, which contains the renal parenchyma (the functional kidney tissue), the branches of blood vessels, kidney and intracranial urinary tract (chalices and a part of the renal pelvis) that lead into an extrarenal urinary tract (the remainder of the renal pelvis, the ureter, the bladder and urethra)
The renal parenchyma, whose main function is to produce urine, is formed by a medulla portion, a central and cortical device. The medulla consists of 10 to 12 renal pyramids flowing into the renal sinus and that, through the renal calices, concentrating there ureter product. The second is formed mainly by Malpighian corpuscles and convoluted tubules.
What functions do the kidneys serve?
Although the main task of the kidneys is to produce the urine from the blood, and allowing the elimination of the waste present in the body, these two bodies are also very important for other functions in the body. The kidneys for example are to secrete erythropoietin, the hormone that promotes the maturation of healthy red blood cells or to secrete renin, an enzyme that plays and important role in the regulation of blood pressure in the human body. The kidneys are also to process the vitamin D into its active for so that it can be used by the body efficiently. The presence of only one healthy kidney is sufficient enough to guarantee the normal performance of all these functions. Kidneys also have the function to filter out and excrete waste of products, for example, such as those of processed food, drugs, and other harmful substances such as toxins, they also regulate blood pressure. One of the main waste products is urea, which comes from a protein metabolism, urea passes freely through the glomerulus into the tubular fluid and as it is not reabsorbed again, it will pass into the urine.
