Human beings have a pair of kidneys found in the abdomen, one on either side of the backbone and protected by the last two ribs.
The right side kidney is at a slightly lower level than the left one.
Structure of kidney
- Each kidney is a bean-shaped and reddish-brown coloured organ about 10 cm long and 6 cm wide.
- The renal artery brings the impure blood containing waste substances into the kidneys, while the renal vein carries away the pure blood from the kidneys.
- They contain nephron as their structural and functional unit in large numbers.
- A longitudinal section of the kidney shows two main regions-an outer cortex and an inner medulla.
- The medulla is composed of a finely striped substance arranged in several conical pyramids. The apex of each pyramid is called papilla which projects into the pelvis of the kidney.
- Portions of the cortical tissue extend in between adjacent renal pyramids to form renal columns.
Also Check – Describe the Process of Urine Formation in Kidneys
Structure of Nephron
- The kidney is composed of an enormous number of minute tubules called Nephrons or Uriniferous tubules or renal tubules or just kidney tubules.
- These are the structural as well as functional units of the kidney.
- The nephron has a cup-like capsule called Bowman’s capsule at its upper end and the lower end is a tube-like structure called tubule.
- The Bowman’s capsule and the tubule taken together constitute a nephron.
- Blood at high pressure flows into these tubules by blood capillaries called glomerulus, which are surrounded by Bowman’s capsule.
- This cup-shaped structure is followed by a long tubular structure, which is convoluted and twisted. It finally leads to the collecting duct that collects the filtered urine. Read more..
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