kidneys

     

The kineys are complicated organs that have numerous biological roles. Their primary role is to maintain the homeostatic balance of bodily fluids by filtering and secreting metabolites (such as urea) and minerals from the blood and excreting them, along with water, as urine. Because the kidneys are poised to sense plasma concentrations of ions such as sodium, potassium, hydrogen, oxygen, and compounds such as amino acids, creatine, bicarbonate, and glucose, they are important regulators of blood pressure, glucose metabolism, and erythropoiesis (the process by which red blood cells (erythrocytes) are produced). The medical field that studies the kidneys and diseases of the kidney is called nephrology. The prefix nephro- meaning kidney is from the Ancient Greek word nephros (νεφρός); the adjective renal meaning related to the kidney is from Latin rēnēs, meaning kidneys.

Trivia about kidneys

  • Each of these organs contains about 1 million nephrons, which filter blood
  • One of the main functions of this organ pair is to filter out waste from the blood
  • Hemodialysis removes waste material from the blood, a job usually done by these organs
  • No beans about it, this pair of organs helps maintain blood pressure & wash away waste
  • Bean-shaped internal organs(7)
  • This pair of bean-shaped organs filter some 50 gallons of blood each day
  • Your renal arteries are so named because they carry blood to these organs
  • The nephrons function as filtering units in this pair of organs
  • Joseph Murray performed the first successful human organ transplant, of this paired internal organ
  • Dialysis is a process used when these organs aren't working properly
  • Just below the adrenal glands, these bean-shaped organs are each about the size of a large bar of soap
  • The hospital at the University of Alabama at Brimingham is a leading center for these renal transplants
  • The ancients called jade lapis nephriticus, as they thought it a stone that could cure this organ's ailments
  • The human body has 2 of these internal organs
  • In 2007 Philippines justice secretary Raul Gonzalez had a transplant of this paired organ
  • In 1943 Dr. Willem Kolff was the first to use an artificial one of these organs on humans
  • Before the listing was pulled, the bid on one of these paired organs was up to $5.7 million
  • These twin internal organs are composed of closely packed uriniferous tubules
  • In the 1940s Willem Kolff built a machine that could clean your blood if these failed
  • Each of these paired organs contains about a million tiny filtering units called nephrons
  • During a person's lifetime, these organs will remove waste from more than 10 million gallons of blood
  • (Sarah of the Clue Crew holds up a piece of gross anatomy in the Body Worlds exhibit at the California Science Center.) The arteries sub-divide into a network of aterials in these organs that filter the waste from the blood
  • Nephrology is a medical specialty concerned with these organs
  • Osmoregulation in the human body is carried out by these organs
  • A thin, tough fibrous material called the renal capsule covers the outer surface of these organs
  • Eggs Meyerbeer, named in honor of the composer, is made with these organs the French call reins
  • (Kelly of the Clue Crew shows an anatomical diagram on the monitor.) The adrenal glands, here & here, derive their name because they sit atop these renal organs
  • Nephromalacia
  • Reins, these organ meats, may be sauteed with mushrooms
  • Earthworms give off waste matter via organs called nephridia, the counterpart of these human organs
  • Metanephros is the medical name for this organ found in birds, reptiles & humans
  • Some 2 million nephrons in this pair of organs filter about 180 liters of blood each day
  • In amphibians the mesonephros organs perform the same function as this pair in humans
  • (Jimmy of the Clue Crew stands next to a chart of the human body.) Important to the human body is the excretory system, which allows the body to get rid of waste largely through this pair of organs
  • About once an hour this pair of organs cleanses all of the body's blood