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Know your kidneys.












Hello friends it's another Tuesday,
Hope you're having a great week?

So today we'll be looking at a very vital organ in our body that is essential to our lives and well being, I'm talking about the kidneys.

By way of introduction, we'll like to say that the kidneys are paired bean shaped organs located on either side of the back portion of the abdominal wall.

The left kidney  is slightly larger and a bit higher than that of the right due to the presence of the liver on the right.
The left kidney is located below the spleen.

The kidneys are covered by a thin capsule of connective tissue and fat which serves as a form of protection in addition to the back muscles an part of the ribs.

The Kidneys have a depression in the centre referred to as the renal hilus  where the  renal artery, renal vein pass in and the ureter begins.

 The structural and functional unit of the kidney is the nephron which is a system of tubules and capillaries that are involved in carrying out the primary functions of the kidneys.

Having seen how the kidney is structured, let's look at some of its functions as well.

1. The kidneys help eliminate waste from the body.
They get rid of toxins, urea, and excess salts through urine.

2. The kidneys perform what is known as osmosis regulation
Which means helping to regulate the water and electrolyte balance in the body.
If the kidneys sense an excess in the level of fluid more urine is formed to get rid of the excess and when it senses dehydration it reduces the amount of urine formed.

3. Regulation of blood pressure: The kidneys help to regulate blood pressure by the realease of a hormone known as Renin.

4. The kidneys produce a hormone called ERYTHROPOIETIN that stimulates  red-blood cell production in the bone marrows.

Having seen how important our kidneys are to our existence, it's important we we take good care of them especially by drinking adequate amount of water daily to help prevent  formation of renal stones.

Do have a healthy week ahead. 


Credits: Webmed
             :Livescience.com
             : Healthscience.com
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