Kidney (गुर्दा) in Human Body – Biology Topic

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Biology topic – “Kidney (गुर्दा) in Human Body”, is important for all competitive exams like SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, RRB NTPC, UPSC and other state civil services exams. In these exams, almost 4-5 questions are coming from Biology. Let’s start the topic – Kidney (गुर्दा) in Human Body:

Working of Kidney (गुर्दा) in Human Body

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs in human body. They filter our blood and help get rid of waste products from our body. The kidneys sit in the flanks, closer to the spine and located just underneath our diaphragm and rib cage.

In adult humans are about 12 cms (4.5 inches) in length. Each kidney weights between 150 grams to 170 grams. These numbers vary based on a person’s size. Abnormal sized kidneys could be a sign of kidney disease. About 380 gallons (1440 litters) of blood flows through the kidneys every day.
Our Kidneys receive blood from the paired renal arteries (blood exits into the paired renal veins). Each kidney is attached to a ureter (a tube that carries excreted urine to the bladder).
The nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney.
Each human adult kidney contains around 1 million nephrons, while a mouse kidney contains only about 12,500 nephrons. These nephrons are tiny filters catching all the stuff that our body doesn’t need and sending it out as waste.
The kidney participates in the control of the volume of various body fluids, fluid osmolality, acid-base balance, various electrolyte concentrations, and removal of toxins.
Filtration occurs in the glomerulus: one-fifth of the blood volume that enters the kidneys is filtered.
Renal physiology is the study of kidney function.
The tube that carries urine made by the kidneys to the bladder is called ureter. It is usually 25 cm in length and is made up of a special type of flexible muscle.
The bladder is a muscle sac located in the front of the lower abdomen (in the pelvis), in which urine is stored. An adult person’s bladder may collect 400 – 500 millilitres of urine. A person has a strong urge to pass urine when urine is filled near the bladder’s capacity.
Urination comes out of the body through the ureter. In women the urethra is shorter than in men, while in men the passage is longer.

Kidney Functions

Following are the main functions of kidney:

1. Blood purification:

The kidneys continuously work and excrete unnecessary toxic substances formed in the body through urine.

2. Discharge of waste products

The most important function of the kidney is to purify the blood by removing waste products. The food we take contains protein. This protein is essential for keeping the body healthy and for the development of the body. Protein is used by the body but in this process some waste material is produced. The accumulation of these waste materials is similar to maintaining poison inside our body. Our kidneys filter and purify toxic waste products from the blood. These toxins eventually dissipate with urine.

Creatinine and urea are two important waste products. Observation of their volume in blood indicates kidney function. When both kidneys are impaired, the amount of creatinine and urea are elevated to a higher level in the blood test.

Balance of water in the body:

Kidney excretes excess accumulated water through urine, keeping the amount of water required for the body.

When the kidneys go bad, they lose the ability to exclude this excess water from the body, causing the body to swell due to the accumulation of excess water.

Balance of acid and alkali:

Kidney works by maintaining the quantity of sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, bicarbonate, etc. in the body. The above substances are responsible for the amount of acid and alkali in the body. Increasing or decreasing the amount of sodium can have serious effects on the brain and heart and muscle activity by increasing or decreasing the amount of potassium.

Keeping calcium and phosphorus appropriate and keeping their levels normal is essential for healthy bones and healthy teeth in our body.

Blood pressure control:

Kidney makes many hormones such as angiotensin, aldosterone etc. With the help of these hormones, the body maintains a balance of water, acids and alkalis. With the help of this balance, the kidney works to maintain blood pressure normal in the body.

In case of kidney failure, the production of hormones and disturbances in salt and water balance leads to high blood pressure.

Assist in the production of blood particles:

Red blood vessels present in the blood are produced in the bone marrow with the help of erythropoietin. Erythropoietin is made in the kidney. In the event of kidney failure, this substance stops producing little or no at all, which reduces the production of red blood cells and causes blood fade, which is called Anemia .

Strengthening bones

To maintain healthy bones, the kidney converts vitamin D into an active form, which is essential for the absorption of calcium from food, growth of bones and teeth, and to keep bones strong and healthy.

Some medical terms for kidney:

Renal is a word that means ‘to do with the kidney’.
Homeostasis is what doctors call the work that the kidney does to balance your body’s fluids.

Important Facts about Kidney for Competitive Exams.

Kidneys are organs that are shaped like beans and are part of the urinary system in humans.
Structural and functional unit of the kidney, is called Nephrons.
About 1, 80000 nephrons are present in each kidney.
The yellow colour of Urine is due to presence of Urochrome or Urobilin.
Blood purification takes place in Lungs while blood filtration takes place in Kidney.
Blood Filtration occurs in the glomerulus of Kidney.
Kidneys produce a hormone that is essential to make red blood cells, called “erythropoietin”.
They make sure that our bones stay healthy by producing a form of vitamin D.
Kidneys filter the blood by removing waste and excreting it via urine (pee).
Kidneys help keep a stable balance of fluids in our body.
Kidneys help keep our blood pressure at a normal level.
If the amount of Creatinine present (increase in urine) it may be a symbol of Kidney Failure (except during pregnancy of women).
Pregnancy of women is also checked with the measurement of Creatinine amount in urine.
Pungent smell at public Urinal place due to presence of Urea in urine. Reaction with Nitrogen present in the atmosphere converts Urea into Ammonia and Ammonia has a pungent smell.
At birth a normal human has two kidneys and the right kidney is slightly smaller than the left kidney to make room for the liver.
Kidneys are in the upper area of the human abdominal cavity, with one on each side of the spine.
Kidneys filter around 37.5 gallons of blood every day or about 1.5 gallons every hour.
Kidneys filter the entire blood volume in the human body between 20 to 25 times per day.
Kidneys produce between 0.25 and 0.5 gallons of urine every day.
Humans don’t need both Kidneys to survive. You can live a completely healthy life with just one kidney.
A kidney stone is a solid piece of material that develops in kidneys.
Kidney stones can be quite painful and if they’re large enough may require surgery to be removed.
A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure where a living or deceased donor’s kidney is removed and put into another human who has end-stage kidney disease.

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