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    Kidneys Explained: One Litre of Blood Is Cleaned Every Minute

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    kapczuk
    Most people have two kidneys, one on either side of the spine under the lower ribs. They are reddish brown in colour and shaped like kidney beans. Each minute about one litre of blood enters the kidneys through the renal arteries. After the blood is cleaned, it flows back into the body through the renal veins.

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    Kidneys Explained: One Litre of Blood Is Cleaned Every Minute

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    kapczuk
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    Most people have two kidneys, one on either side of the spine under the lower ribs. They are reddish brown in colour and shaped like kidney beans. Each minute about one litre of blood enters the kidneys through the renal arteries. After the blood is cleaned, it flows back into the body through the renal veins.

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    Most people have two kidneys, one on either side of the spine under the lower ribs. They are reddish brown in colour and shaped like kidney beans. Each minute about one litre of blood enters the kidneys through the renal arteries. After the blood is cleaned, it flows back into the body through the renal veins.

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    32 views2 pages

    Kidneys Explained: One Litre of Blood Is Cleaned Every Minute

    Uploaded by

    kapczuk
    Most people have two kidneys, one on either side of the spine under the lower ribs. They are reddish brown in colour and shaped like kidney beans. Each minute about one litre of blood enters the kidneys through the renal arteries. After the blood is cleaned, it flows back into the body through the renal veins.

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    Image description. Better Health Channel logo End of image description.

    Kidneys explained
    Yourkidneysareasimportanttoyourhealthasyourheartorlungs.Theirmainjobistoremove wasteproductsfromyourbody.Mostpeoplehavetwokidneys,oneoneithersideofthespine underthelowerribs.Theyarereddishbrownincolourandshapedlikekidneybeans.Eachkidney isaboutthesizeofaclenchedfist. One litre of blood is cleaned every minute Themainjobofthekidneysistoremovewastefromthebloodandreturnthecleanedbloodback tothebody.Eachminuteaboutonelitreofbloodone-fifthofallthebloodpumpedbytheheart entersthekidneysthroughtherenalarteries.Afterthebloodiscleaned,itflowsbackintothebody throughtherenalveins. A special filter system Eachkidneycontainsaboutonemilliontinyunitscallednephrons.Eachnephronismadeupofa verysmallfilter,calledaglomerulus,thatisattachedtoatubule.Asbloodpassesthroughthe nephron,fluidandwasteproductsarefilteredout.Muchofthefluidisthenreturnedtotheblood, whilethewasteproductsareconcentratedinanyextrafluidasurine(wee). Theurineflowsthroughatubecalledtheureterintothebladder.Urinepassesfromthebladder outofthebodythroughatubecalledtheurethra.Thekidneyusuallymakesonetotwolitresof urineeverydaydependingonyourbuild,howmuchyoudrink,thetemperatureandtheamountof exerciseyoudo. Ahealthykidneycangreatlyincreaseitsworkcapacity.Ifonekidneyislost,theotherkidneycan enlargeanddotheworkoftwo. Other kidney functions Aswellasfilteringtheblood,kidneys: Makeandregulateimportanthormonesinthebodythathelptocontrolbloodpressure,red bloodcellproductionandcalciumuptakefromtheintestine Maintainbodyfluidatthecorrectlevelsforthebodytofunction Controlbodychemistrybyregulatingtheamountofsalt,waterandotherchemicals movingaroundthebody.

    Ima ge des crip

    Maintaining a balance Whenyourkidneysareworkingproperly,excessmineralsandwasteproductsleavethebodyin urine.Sodium(salt)andpotassiumaremineralsthatcomefromfood.Thebodyneedsthese mineralstomaintaingoodhealthbuttheymustbekeptatthecorrectlevel.Thekidneysalsohelp regulatethelevelsofothermineralssuchascalciumandphosphate,whichareimportantinthe formationofbone. Manywasteproductsaretoxiciftheyarenotremovedfromthebody.Ureaandotherwaste productsaremadewhenthebodybreaksdownprotein.Creatinineisawasteproductmadebythe muscles.Healthykidneystakecreatinineoutofthebloodandputitintotheurinetoleavethe body.Whenkidneysarenotworkingwell,creatininebuildsupintheblood. Measuring how your kidneys work Itisdifficulttocalculatetheexactrateatwhichyourkidneyswork.Thebestmeasureofkidney functioniscalledtheestimatedglomerularfiltrationrate(eGFR).Thisformulausesthelevelof creatinineinyourbloodtoestimatehowwellyourkidneysarefilteringwastefromyourblood.It canindicateifthereisanykidneydamage.Thehigherthefiltrationrate,thebetterthekidneysare working.

    Kidneysexplained

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    Ifyourdoctorordersabloodtesttolearnmoreaboutyourkidneyfunction,aneGFRresultisoften providedautomatically,alongwithyourcreatinineresults.Yourdoctormayalsotestforothersigns andconditionsthatmayindicateyouhavechronickidneydisease.Thesemayincludeproteinin yoururine(proteinuria),bloodintheurine(haematuria),highbloodpressureanddiabetes. Keeping your kidneys healthy Well-functioningkidneysareessentialtoyouroverallhealth.Earlydetectionofkidneydiseasecan belifesaving.Medicationandchangestolifestyle,alongwithanearlyreferraltoakidney specialist,canpreventordelaykidneyfailure. Ifyouareathigherriskofchronickidneydisease,talktoyourdoctorabouthavingaregular kidneyhealthcheck. Where to get help Yourdoctor KidneyHealthInformationServiceTel.18004KIDNEY(543639)orTTY1800005881

    Things to remember

    Kidneysareaspecialfiltersystemforyourbody. Kidneysremovewasteproductsfromthebloodandproduceurine. Kidneyscontrolthelevelsofmanysubstancesintheblood. Earlydetectionofkidneydiseasecanbelifesaving.

    This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

    KidneyHealthAustralia

    Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

    Kidneysexplained

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