Part 1 of 4: Statistics and Functions
March is National Kidney Month and is an important time for us to learn the detection and prevention of problems involving these very necessary renal system organs. The National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org) explains that 26 million American adults have chronic kidney disease.
In fact, one in three Americans (millions more) are at risk for kidney disease due to having Types 1 and 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney failure. Presently, kidney disease is the eighth leading cause of death in our country.
Kidneys are located in our abdominal area toward the back, typically on each side of the spine. It is not extremely rare to have duplicating organs in the urinary system.
My mother, for example, was born with three kidneys, while only two actually functioned. Our two healthy kidneys serve as our body’s filters. Not only do they filter blood and get rid of waste products, kidneys balance electrolyte levels in the body, which control blood pressure and stimulate production of red blood cells.
Kidneys get a supply of blood through renal arteries and return blood to the heart through renal veins. Kidneys can monitor body fluid amounts and concentration of electrolytes.
When blood flows through the kidneys, sensors within these amazing organs decide how much water to excrete as urine, as well as what concentration of electrolytes will be in that urine? This accounts for the color changes in your urine output. The kidneys will hold onto as much water as necessary during a person’s dehydration from exercise or illness.
Thus, at this time, the urine becomes more concentrated and deeper in color. When adequate water is present in the body, the urine becomes clearer in color, as it becomes more diluted with water.
According to medicinenet.com, our two kidneys produce two important substances for our blood. The enzyme renin becomes part of the fluid and blood pressure regulation systems in the body. The hormone erythropoietin stimulates the bone marrow to make blood cells.
The simpler function of our two kidneys, that we are all familiar with, includes the urine first being excreted through each kidney’s ureter. These two thin tubes connect the urine from each kidney to the bladder. Next with storage in the bladder, the urine awaits urination through a singular tube named the urethra.
Next Edition, Part 2: The acute and chronic causes of kidney failure
