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
Epilepsy Drug Shows Promise in Treating Kidney Disease
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An anti-convulsant drug commonly used to treat epilepsy reduces cysts in mice that are associated with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a difficult to treat ailment that afflicts 600,000 people in the United ...
New cancer study takes major step toward improved treatment
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Cancer researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to turn ineffective new cancer drugs into cancer-fighters. By using their patented chemical compound, SHetA2, researchers tricked cancer ...
Model predicts dialysis patients' likelihood of survival
Dec 03, 2009 |
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A new model can help physicians determine if a kidney disease patient on dialysis is likely to die within the next few months, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of ...
New guidelines for treating complicated skin and soft tissue infections
Dec 02, 2009 |
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New evidence-based recommendations developed by the Surgical Infection Society to guide physicians in the diagnosis and management of complicated skin and soft tissue infections have been published in Surgical Infections.
High urea levels in chronic kidney failure might be toxic after all
Dec 02, 2009 |
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It is thought that the elevated levels of urea (the byproduct of protein breakdown that is excreted in the urine) in patients with end-stage kidney failure are not particularly toxic.
Reduced skin infections in Northern Australian Aboriginal children
Nov 24, 2009 |
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A community-based program aimed at reducing the burden of skin disease across remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory has been successful according to a study published November 24 in the open-access journal ...
Diabetics show alarming increase in morbid obesity
Nov 23, 2009 |
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A Loyola University Health System study has found that one out of five Type 2 diabetics is morbidly obese -- approximately 100 pounds or more overweight.
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?
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, ...
Drug side effects a key factor in reduced quality of life for kidney transplant patients
Nov 23, 2009 |
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People who have kidney transplants need longer-term support than most friends, relatives or even healthcare professionals realise, according to a study of 160 patients published in the December issue of the UK-based 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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
