Related topics: kidney disease , kidney function , kidney transplant , transplant
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
Quick test for prostate cancer
May 19, 2009 |
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A new 3-minute test could help in diagnosing prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men in the UK, according to scientists.
Blocking protein may help ease painful nerve condition
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Mar 15, 2009 |
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Scientists have identified the first gene that pulls the plug on ailing nerve cell branches from within the nerve cell, possibly helping to trigger the painful condition known as neuropathy.
Gene for devastating kidney disease discovered
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in ...
Study shows how gene action may lead to diabetes prevention, cure
Dec 11, 2009 |
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A gene commonly studied by cancer researchers has been linked to the metabolic inflammation that leads to diabetes.
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?
Reduction in glycotoxins from heat-processing of foods reduces risk of chronic disease
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine report that cutting back on the consumption of processed and fried foods, which are high in toxins called Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs), can reduce inflammation and ...
Help your kidneys: Pass on salt and diet soda
Nov 01, 2009 |
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Individuals who consume a diet high in sodium or artificially sweetened drinks are more likely to experience a decline in kidney function, according to two papers being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's annual ...
Study finds best use of insulin as diabetes progresses
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A large-scale trial in diabetes patients has provided new evidence on how best to add insulin to standard drugs to control blood sugar levels as type 2 diabetes progresses.
Link found between depression, early stages of chronic kidney disease
Sep 08, 2009 |
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One in five patients with chronic kidney disease is depressed, even before beginning long-term dialysis therapy or developing end-stage renal disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
Researchers pinpoint neural nanoblockers in carbon nanotubes
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 27, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Carbon nanotubes hold many exciting possibilities, some of them in the realm of the human nervous system. Recent research has shown that carbon nanotubes may help regrow nerve tissue or ferry drugs used to ...
Researchers discover therapeutic target that could help patients with pulmonary fibrosis
Aug 23, 2009 |
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A diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is not much better than a death sentence: there is no treatment and the survival rate is less than three years.
Hello wearable kidney, goodbye dialysis machine
Aug 20, 2009 |
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Researchers are developing a Wearable Artificial Kidney for dialysis patients, reports an upcoming paper in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Our vision of a technological breakthrough ...
Anti-aging gene linked to high blood pressure
Aug 19, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have shown the first link between a newly discovered anti-aging gene and high blood pressure. The results, which appear this month in the journal ...
An apple a day keeps kidney stones away
Aug 13, 2009 |
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Researchers have found another reason to eat well: a healthy diet helps prevent kidney stones. Loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, while limiting salt, red and processed meats, ...
Found: A gene that may play a role in type 1 diabetes
Aug 10, 2009 |
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Scientists at Stanford University have identified a gene that may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body's insulin-producing cells. Insulin, a ...
