Kidney Failure

Structure & Function Of Kidney

KIDNEY STRUCTURE

Kidneys are vital organs that perform many functions to keep your blood clean and chemically balanced. The kidneys remove wastes and extra water from the blood to form urine. Urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through the ureters.

Structure of Kidneys :
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. The bladder stores urine until go to the urination.

Working of Kidneys :
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.

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

Why Are the Kidneys So Important ?
Most people know that a major function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body. These waste products and excess fluid are removed through the urine. The production of urine involves highly complex steps of excretion and reabsorption. This process is necessary to maintain a stable balance of body chemicals.

The critical regulation of the body’s salt, potassium and acid content is performed by the kidneys. The kidneys also produce hormones that affect the function of other organs. For example, a hormone produced by the kidneys stimulates red blood cell production. Other hormones produced by the kidneys help regulate blood pressure and control calcium metabolism.

The kidneys are powerful chemical factories that perform the following functions :
remove waste products from the body
remove drugs form the body
balance the body’s fluids
release hormones that regulate blood pressure
produce an active form of vitamin D that promotes strong, healthy bones
control the production of red blood cells

Renal functions :- A person with two healthy kidneys has 100 percent of renal function. This is more renal function than body really need. Some people are born with only one kidney, and these people are able to lead normal, healthy lives. Many people donate a kidney for transplantation. Small declines in renal function may not cause a problem.

But many people with reduced renal function have a kidney disease that will get worse. Patient will have serious health problems if he has less than 25 percent of renal function. If renal function drops below 10 to 15 percent, patient cannot live long without some form of renal replacement therapy—either dialysis or transplantation (In Modern Science) But in Ayurveda (Oral Medication to reduce Serum Creatinine & Blood Urea)