Kidney
hideThe kidneys are paired organs, which have the production of urine as their primary function. Kidneys are seen in many types of animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are part of the urinary system, but have several secondary functions concerned with homeostatic functions. These include the regulation of electrolytes, acid-base balance, and blood pressure. In producing urine, the kidneys excrete wastes such as urea and ammonium; the kidneys also are responsible for the reabsorption of glucose and amino acids. Finally, the kidneys are important in the production of hormones including vitamin D, renin and erythropoietin.
Located behind the abdominal cavity in the retroperitoneum, the kidneys receive blood from the paired renal arteries, and drain into the paired renal veins. Each kidney excretes urine into a ureter, itself a paired structure that empties into the urinary bladder.
Renal physiology is the study of kidney function, while nephrology is the medical specialty concerned with diseases of the kidney. Diseases of the kidney are diverse, but individuals with kidney disease frequently display characteristic clinical features. Common clinical presentations include the nephritic and nephrotic syndromes, acute kidney failure, chronic kidney disease, urinary tract infection, nephrolithiasis, and urinary tract obstruction.
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News tagged with kidney
High blood pressure easy to miss in children with kidney disease
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension - even during doctor's office visits — increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from ...
Sleep apnea may cause heart disease in kidney transplant patients
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Sleep apnea is common in individuals who receive a kidney transplant and is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Jo ...
Heart failure patients with kidney dysfunction don't recover well after hospital discharge
Nov 18, 2009 |
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Most heart failure patients who develop kidney failure in the hospital do not recover from it before going home and are at increased risk of either being re-hospitalized or dying within the year, according to a Henry Ford ...
Researchers find inflammation critical in aortic dissection
Nov 16, 2009 |
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The aorta, the body's largest artery, stretches from the chest to below the kidneys, expanding and contracting with the pressure of blood driven directly into it by the heart. Although its walls are extraordinarily strong, ...
Drinking green tea helps prevent kidney stones
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Drinking green tea can help prevent the formation of large kidney stones, report Chinese scientists in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal CrystEngComm.
Doctors' tests often miss high blood pressure in kids with kidney disease
Nov 12, 2009 |
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Many children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who show normal blood pressure readings at the doctor's office have high blood pressure when tested at home, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of ...
Doctors embrace social networking
Nov 12, 2009 |
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In the waiting room, the patient's family members circled a Blackberry. About every 15 minutes, Dr. Carlos Wolf of Miami Plastic Surgery gave them a few keystrokes of information about how the patient was doing.
With Help from a Bacterium, Cockroaches Develop Way to Store Excess Uric Acid
Nov 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- What life form can use materials as nutrients that we, and most other animals, would consider waste products?
Study: Kidney angioplasty brings risks, no benefit
Nov 11, 2009 |
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If you're among the hundreds of thousands of Americans with clogged kidney arteries, you might want to consider trying medicines before rushing into angioplasty to open them up. The pricey procedure is no more effective and ...
Physician bias might keep life-saving transplants from black and Hispanic patients
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Physician bias might be the reason why African Americans are not receiving kidney/pancreas transplants at the same rate as similar patients in other racial groups. Dr. Keith Melancon, director of kidney and pancreas transplantation ...
Kidney function decline increases risk of heart failure and premature death
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Declining kidney function is linked to a higher risk of heart failure, heart attack, peripheral arterial disease, and early death in individuals with or without kidney disease, according to a pair of studies appearing in ...
Small increases in phosphorus mean higher risk of heart disease
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Higher levels of phosphorus in the blood are linked to increased calcification of the coronary arteries— a key marker of heart disease risk, according to a study in an upcoming issue of Clinical Journal of the American So ...
Polycystins : proteins that regulate the cellular barometer
Nov 05, 2009 |
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What is the role of proteins called polycystins in patients with polycystic kidney disease? A team of researchers from CNRS and INSERM, led by Eric Honoré from the Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire ...
Researchers pioneer kidney disease prediction method
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A study into the relationship between antibodies and proteins in people with Lupus could mean earlier diagnosis of kidney disease in such patients, and lead the way for earlier diagnoses for ...
Key player identified in cascade that leads to hypertension-related kidney damage
Nov 05, 2009 |
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A key player in a cascade that likely begins with stress and leads to high blood pressure and kidney damage has been identified by researchers who say the finding may lead to better ways to control both.
