Kidneys In The Human Body

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Kidneys are one of the most vital organs in the human body that carry out important functions through removing and filtering waste products from blood present in the body. Kidneys also work in the body to balance regulate blood pressure, blood cell production and also balances water and minerals in the body, like salt and electrolytes in the blood streams (“Kidney Failure”). When blood is filtered by the kidneys in the body, urine is produced and this urine is collected in the pelvis of the kidney which is also connected to the bladder in which the urine is disposed through. Figure one shows the anatomy of the kidneys in the body hence shows how they are connected to the bladder.

Fig 1
Diagram of Kidneys in the human body. Digital image from web. The Kidneys (human anatomy) : Picture, function, definition, and conditions. WebMD, accessed on Saturday 5th April 2014. http://img.webmd.com/dtmcms/live/webmd/consumer_assets/site_images/articles/image_article_collections/anatomy_pages/Kidney2.jpg Kidney failure occurs when waste products build-up in the body due to the kidney being unable to filter out the waste products properly. Human waste is then accumulating in the blood and the body, and when the concentration of waste present in the bloodstream becomes too high, kidney failure is then affected by harmful symptoms usually known as Uraemia. Kidney failure can be classified into two different groups, Acute Kidney Injury
(AKI) or Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). AKI is known as the rapid loss of kidney functions and can generally be identified by low production of urine. CKD develops at a slower rate and show few or almost no symptoms at first. Kidney damage and loss of function lasting more than 3 months can be...

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.... http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/acute-renal-failure-topic-overview Accessed on Saturday 5th April 2014

“Kidney Transplants” Kidney Transplant facts and information http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/kidney-transplant/basics/definition/prc-20014007 Accessed on Saturday 5th April 2014

“How Kidney Procedures Go” Procedure of Kidney transplant http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Kidney-transplant/Pages/How-is-it-performed.aspx Accessed on Saturday 5th April 2014

“Kidneys-How it’s performed” How it is performed (surgical viewpoint)? http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/kidney_transplantation/hic_kidney_transplant_procedure.aspx Accessed on Saturday 5th April 2014

“Kidney Transplant Advantages & Disadvantages” Advantages and Disadvantages. http://www.cpmc.org/advanced/kidney/patients/topics/benefits_transplant.html Accessed on Saturday 5th April 2014

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