What is a kidney?
These bean-shaped organs are located in the back on either side of your spine. They are protected by the lower ribs. Most people are born with two kidneys, but one in every 500 healthy babies are born with just one. You only need one healthy kidney to live normally.
What do the kidneys do?
Through arteries, the heart pumps blood to the kidneys. Each fist-sized kidney weighs about five ounces. Kidneys perform the important function of filtering the blood and cleansing it. This filtering process ensures your body maintains normal amounts of wastes, salts, minerals and fluids.
After the blood is filtered by the kidneys, veins carry the cleansed blood back to the heart. Then the blood can circulate through your body. Urine, produced from the fluids and wastes removed by your kidneys, is drained into the bladder.
When your kidneys remove fluids and wastes, the result is urine. The urine is drained through long, hollow tubes called ureters into the bladder, which is located in the lower part of your abdomen. The bladder stores the urine until it gets full; then you feel the urge to urinate.
Hormone production is the kidneys' second major function. These hormones regulate blood pressure, stimulate production of blood in the bone marrow, and help the bones stay strong by increasing the amount of calcium absorbed from food. Kidney hormone production is essential for good health.
What does the pancreas do?