Kidneys

In the human body, as is known, there are single and paired organs. Paired organs include kidneys. Normally, there should be two of them, however, with abnormal development of the embryo, it is possible to lay down more kidneys, although only two of them remain functional, the others do not take any part in the life of the body as a whole.

The urinary system and urinary excretion completely depend on how the kidneys are developed and their proper functionality. Even if the kidneys undergo minor changes, this has a detrimental effect on the well-being of the entire organism.

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What are kidneys?

If you imagine a full-length X-ray of a person, you can see that the kidneys, located in the lumbar region, are, as it were, in a suspended state, and are separated by the spinal column into left and right. The kidneys have a ligamentous apparatus, which is designed in such a way that at the moment of inhalation or during body movements, they can change their position, slightly dropping down, then returning to the starting point again. Such a “mobile” state of the kidneys is necessary for the full process of urine formation. Which cannot be said about the pathological process, in which the ligamentous apparatus of the kidneys weakens so much that their mobility begins to cause problems and leads to the diagnosis of “wandering kidney”.

So. A certain mobility is acceptable for normal kidney function, which allows them to pump about two thousand liters of blood per day, approximately one liter per minute. Unpurified blood is delivered to the kidneys by large arteries, is filtered from all harmful impurities, decay products, and, through the venous vessels, returns back to the body already completely purified. Mixing of venous and arterial blood in the kidneys is impossible, this is prevented by a special valve designed specifically for this purpose.

The filtrate of arterial blood is called primary urine, the amount of which per day reaches about 150 liters. This is the primary infiltrate, in it, along with waste, there are also useful substances. In order to separate the useful from the harmful, the kidneys perform repeated filtration. Useful substances are absorbed back into the blood, and harmful ones settle in the renal pelvis, forming a secondary infiltrate, urine, which is excreted through the urinary organs: the ureters, bladder and urethra.

The kidneys not only take on large volumes of blood, but are also forced to resist all harmful substances and microorganisms that pass through them along with the blood. In order to protect the body from the repeated return of everything harmful, the kidneys must work harmoniously and fully. In the event that a failure occurs in one kidney, the second can take on the full volume of work. However, full life activity, if only one kidney is present, will no longer be possible. Therefore, you need to be attentive to your health and conduct a constant preventive examination of all systems and organs, in order to promptly identify discrepancies with the norm.

It would be unfair to talk about kidneys as only one of the body's filters. Undoubtedly, the filtering function is one of the priority ones, but in addition to performing filtration, they are responsible for a number of the most important processes, in connection with which, the kidneys can be called:

• the central headquarters of homeostasis, which should be understood as the preservation and maintenance of the constancy of the internal environment of the body;
• the guardian of the water-salt balance, which maintains the fragile equilibrium at the right level, giving commands in the form of thirst, in the case of a large imbalance in favor of salts, or frequent trips to the toilet and swelling, with an excess of water;
• the controlling organ of the blood vessels. The kidneys facilitate the primary reaction of the blood vessels to any changes in the body, the walls of which sometimes become thicker, sometimes looser, due to which all metabolic processes are possible;
• an active participant in the processes in which: red blood cells are formed, vitamin D is activated, normal blood pressure is maintained.

After all of the above, it becomes clear why diseases that affect the kidneys have a severe impact on the well-being of the entire body as a whole.

Diseases that affect the kidneys

The most common diseases affecting different age groups, according to medical statistics, are nephritis and kidney stones. Nephritis is divided, depending on which structural element of the kidney is affected by the inflammatory process, into pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis. In the first case, the kidney tissue is affected, in the second, only the vascular glomeruli are involved, which give the name to the inflammatory process in them.

Kidney stones do not form in one day or even in one year. This is a long process, as a result of which salts, which are in excess in infiltrates, primary and secondary urine, settle in the renal pelvis and crystallize. Small crystals, called sand, independently come out with urine, without causing any inconvenience to the body. Large salt crystals become similar to stones, and either cannot come out on their own, or, passing through the narrow channels of the ureters, cause unbearable pain. Asymptomatic urolithiasis can only be detected through laboratory urine tests.

Dystrophic degeneration of the tubules in the kidneys causes nephrosis. The development of such an ailment is possible after severe poisoning, especially with chemical substances, strong poisons. Past complex infectious diseases, foci of purulent and chronic foci of infection can also serve as a prerequisite for the onset of kidney dystrophy.

Sclerotic formations are formed not only in large and main vessels, but also in the vessels of internal organs. Sclerotic lesion of the renal vessels leads to the development of nephroangiosclerosis. This disease mainly appears as a consequence of long-term hypertension, which has passed, over time, into a deep stage, giving complications, including on the kidneys.

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How to detect that the kidneys are involved in a pathological process?

It is not difficult to conduct a diagnostic check of the condition of the kidneys and the entire urinary system. If the kidneys have never bothered you, this does not mean that there are no pathological changes or processes in them. For your own peace of mind, you need to undergo a full range of diagnostic procedures once a year, taking general urine and blood tests, undergoing an ultrasound examination of all important organs and systems. If necessary, you should seek help from specialists who conduct diagnostics using magnetic resonance or computed tomography. The last two methods are the most effective for detecting most diseases, including kidney diseases, at the earliest stages.

If your kidneys have bothered you more than once and you have not yet visited a doctor, you should immediately make an appointment with a nephrologist, urologist, or at least a therapist. A professional examination by a doctor will help identify the most obvious symptoms that are causing concern, determine further actions, and prescribe the correct course of treatment aimed at a quick recovery.

So that the kidneys don't hurt

It is difficult to imagine a person who has never had health problems throughout their entire life. Perhaps such people exist, but in modern life, with the low quality of drinking water and external environmental factors, it is difficult to maintain health at a high level. However, there are measures that allow you to adequately avoid many negative factors. Having reliable information about poor-quality drinking water, it is worth installing household filters that will produce clean and healthy water at the outlet, which you need to drink at least one and a half to two liters per day to maintain normal kidney function.

Eating foods with a minimum content of table salt will also have a beneficial effect on the entire body and reduce the load on the kidneys. Fruits, vegetables, cereals, soups and fermented milk products should prevail in the daily diet over carbohydrate foods. One of the leading preventive methods will always be an active lifestyle. In order to be active, it is not necessary to be fond of any kind of sport. It is enough to do exercises in the morning for ten minutes, a cool shower and frequent walks during the day or, at least, frequently change body position, squats and quickly walk up the stairs. The kidneys will always be grateful to a person giving up bad habits, especially alcohol.