The Care of the Kidney

Hello guys,
I warmly welcome you to my blog, this post is aimed at increasing our knowledge on the structure, functions, and care of our kidney.

DEFINITION

Source

The kidneys are one of the vital organs in the body of mammal located at the left and right region of the ribs.

The weight of the left hand side kidney is approximately 117.9g and that of the right hand side is approximately 110g.

FUNCTIONS OF THE KIDNEYS

• EXCRETION:
  The kidneys play a big role in the removal of metabolic waste from the system of mammals in the form of urine.
  This process of excretion involves three processes which are Ultra-filtration, selective absorption and hormonal secretion

Materials such as glucose, sugar, urea etc are filtered into the Bowman's capsule from the glomerulus through the process called ultra filtration

Now, the fluids flows through the tubule and some of this useful materials such as water, sugar, and salts are then re-absorbed into the blood through what is called selective absorption

And then, the tubule increases in it's concentration as the fluids continue to flow, until it flows through the distal tubule where reabsorbed water can be found, and this results in the formation of urine.
And the urine is pushed by the peristalsis into the bladder.
And finally when the bladder is filled up, it discharges the urine from the body by contracting.

• OSMOREGULATION:

Osmoregulation may be termed as the regulation of osmotic pressure in the body.

It is the regulation of water and salts balance in the body, as the body doesn't tolerate excess or lack of water or salt, so it has to be balanced.
It is with the help of the kidney that this regulation take place

• MAINTENANCE OF ACID-BASE BALANCE:
  When the concentration of base in the fluid is greater than that of salt, the kidney maintains acid-base balance by excreting more salts alongside the urine.

Also, when the fluid has higher concentration of acid, the kidney regulates it's balance by excreting more acids alongside the urine

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE FUNCTIONS OF OUR KIDNEYS

Yes, for the kidney to function properly, there are things we must avoid as mammals and there are factors that has effect on its functioning, they are;

• DRUGS:
  Drugs such as diuretics used to get rid of excess water in the body has effects on the functioning of the kidney.

• TEMPERATURE:
  Environmental temperature has significant effects on the functioning of the kidney.

For example, during hot weather, much water is excreted through sweating and during cold days much work is done by the kidney as water is loss through urine.
The kidney is usually put on pressure during cold weather.

• DISEASES:
  Disease such as kidney stones has great effect on the good condition of the kidney.
  

  DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS

  
  DIURESIS:
  This is a condition where by the cells of the kidney fails to re-absorb water from the glomerular filtrate.

EFFECTS OF DIURESIS

• It leads to emaciation
• It leads to decrease in weight
• It leads to removal of large amount of urine
  SOLUTION TO DIURESIS
• Diuretics should be used inorder to do away with excess water from the body
• The help of a surgeon is needed inorder to perform surgical operation on the patient.

KIDNEY STONES:
This is a condition whereby the tubules are blocked by disease growth, thereby causing a decline/ an opposition to the free flow of urine.

EFFECTS OF KIDNEY STONES

• Severe pain is experienced in the passing out of urine
• It results to high blood pressure of the patient.

Please join my next post as we will learn about the functioning of the liver

Also feel free to ask questions as my comments box is open to all.
See you soonest.
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