Kidney - Gross Structure
- The kidneys are located in the back of the abdomen and have two important functions in the body:
- They regulate the water content of the blood (vital for maintaining blood pressure)
- Kidneys alter blood water content by controlling the volume of water lost in the urine
- They excrete the toxic waste products of metabolism (such as urea) and substances in excess of requirement (such as salts)
- They regulate the water content of the blood (vital for maintaining blood pressure)
The structure of the kidney
- There are three regions of the kidney
- Cortex - the outermost region
- Medulla - the inner section of the kidney
- Renal pelvis - the tube linking the kidney to the ureter
- Each kidney contains around a million tiny structures called kidney tubules or renal tubules
- The tubules start in the cortex of the kidney, loop down into the medulla and back up to the cortex
- The contents of the nephrons drain into the innermost part of the kidney (the renal pelvis) and the urine collects there before it flows into the ureter to be carried to the bladder for storage