How Your Kidneys Work

The kidneys perform their life-sustaining job of filtering and returning to the bloodstream about 200 quarts of fluid every 24 hours. About two quarts are removed from the body in the form of urine, and about 198 quarts are recovered. The urine we excrete has been stored in the bladder for anywhere from 1 to 8 hours.

The forms of kidneys
　　Kidneys are a couple of organ like beans. Located in the waist of body. Every kidney is long about 10~12cm, wide about 5~6cm, thickness about 3~4cm. weight about 150g. left kidney is bigger than right kidney. The top of renal longitudinal axis is tend to inside, the bottom of renal longitudinal axis is tend to external.

　　Every kidney have more than 1000000 kidney nephrons. Each nephron consists of glomerular, renal capsule and renal tubule. Renal corpuscle consists of glomerular and renal capsule.

The Functions of kidneys
　　Discharge the metabolites and harmful substances
　　Human body is metabolism all the time. During the process it must be product something which no use even harmful for body. The vast majority of the substance discharge body through kidney. Moreover. Kidney also can clean the harmful substances out of body. Some people poisoning with chemicals medicine will damage kidney. The reason is chemicals medicine discharge need to through kidney. If kidney have something wrong it will influence the harmful substance discharge of body. Kidney can keep the nutrient substance in body and discharge harmful substance. So we called “blood griddle”.

　　Maintain the balance of water
　　The mainly function of kidney is keep the balance of water. When blood past glomerulus. Because of the pressure it filter out crude urine which same as blood plasma but no protein. When crude urine past kidney tubules it put the vast majority of water, all the sugar and a part of salt back to blood, most of nitrogen no longer intake. All the concentrate liquid is urine which contain the residual substance. About 1% of crude urine, normal people urine output about 1000~2000ml everyday. It appear yellow in general, proportion is between 1.003~1.030. both the proportion is too high ,too low or fixed and the urine output too much or too little has the possibility of renal insufficiency.

　　Maintain the balance of electrolyte and acid-base
　　Kidney have the regulating effect with all kinds of ion in the body. Such as sodion regulating characteristics is eat much and excretion much, eat few and excretion few, no eat and no excretion; potassium ion regulating characteristics is eat much and excretion much, eat few and excretion few, no eat but still excretion; chloridion is accompany with sodion’s intake and excretion ammonia secretion to finish the process. In addition, kidney also regulate the balance of phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and so on. The balance of electrolyte is important to osmotic pressure of humoral. Moreover, kidney have the regulating effect to the balance of acid and alkali in the body. Kidney can put the acidoid out of body through urine which product in metabolic process. Kidney can contral the proportion of acidic substance and alkaline substances, when one of the substance is increase in blood kidney will put the redundant substance out of body, kidney also can product ammonia and hippuric acid to keep and regulate the balance of acid and alkali. Due to kidney lose the function of keep balance of acid and alkali many patients with kidney disease is acidosis. We can called the function of regulate water in body and keep the condition table “regulator’ or ‘voltage stabilizer’.

　　Regulate blood pressure
　　Kidney can product renin and make the blood pressure higher. When limited the sodium intake or lack of sodium and plasma volume decrease or kidney blood injection pressure and upright position, rennin can product from cell. It has the activity and it can make the plasma angiotensin original peptide became angiotensin1. Through the function of transferase became angiotensin2, through the function of angiotensin2 and aldosterone make the blood pressure higher. Meanwhile, kidney can product prostaglandin which can make the blood pressure lower. Prostaglandin mainly through increase the blood flow volume of renal cortex, promote diuresis and discharge sodium. Decrease the resistance of peripheral vessel. Expand vessel to make the blood pressure lower.

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