Question
Question: What is the location of kidneys in the body?...
What is the location of kidneys in the body?
Solution
Kidneys are considered as one of the essential organ of our body as they help in the process of filtration of urine. The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates.
Complete answer:
The kidneys are the reddish-brown bean-shaped organs which are two in number. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adults humans are about 12 centimetre in length. Each kidney is attached to a ureter, a tube that carries excreted urine to the bladder.
In humans, kidneys are located high in the abdominal cavity, one on each side of the spine. The left kidney is approximately at the vertebral level T12 to L3 and the right is slightly lower.
The kidney is a bean-shaped structure with a convex and a concave border. The kidneys excrete a variety of waste products into the urine. The functional and microscopic unit of the kidney is the Nephron. It processes the blood supplied to it via filtration, reabsorption, secretion and excretion.
Kidneys participate in the whole body homeostasis, regulating the acid-base balance, electrolyte concentrations, extracellular fluid volume and blood pressure.
Though the kidneys do not sense blood, long-term regulation of blood pressure totally depends upon the kidney.
Note: Kidneys secrete a variety of hormones which includes erythropoietin, calcitriol and renin. Erythropoietin is released in response to hypoxia in the renal circulation and it also stimulates erythropoiesis which is the production of red blood cells in the bone-marrow region.
Renin is an enzyme which helps to regulate the angiotensin and aldosterone levels.