About kidney, functions and its disease

External structure of kidney

Every person has 2 kidneys. They are dark reddish-brown bean-shaped. They are located in the upper part of the abdomen, There are 2 kidneys on either side of the spinal cord. In an adult each kidney measures about 10-13 cm in length, and weighs 130-170gm. Kidney is part of the urinary system. On the right side it remains slightly lower to leave space for the liver.

Internal structure of kidney

The kidney internal structure is divided into 7 parts.

•        Capsule
•        Cortex
•        Medulla
•        Renal papilla
•        Pelvis
•       Pyramid
•       Renal columns of Bertini.

Capsule

This is made up of fibrous connective tissue, this is the outer lane of the kidney.

Cortex

This is the outer region dotted or homogeneous looking and lighter in colour. We can also say this, it is a kidney bark.

­­­­Medulla

This is the inner part of a kidney, and its very striated dark colour.

Renal papilla

It is the middle part of medulla.

Pelvis

This is a large funnel-shaped space towards the concavity or the kidney having projections called calyces.

Pyramid

This forms six pyramids in the medulla of the kidney.

Renal columns of Bertini

The cortex is continued inside medulla between pyramids forming renal columns of Bertini.

Kidney is made of many fine, long, much convoluted tubular functional units called nephrons. One human kidney many contain about one million nephrons, each of which is approximately 3.5 mm in length.

Functions of kidney

•         Homeostasis
•          Regulation of water
•          Regulation of blood
•          Regulation of acid –base balance
•          Regulation of Ph.
•          Regulation of RBC count.
•          Regulation of Electrolytes.

Regulation of kidney function

The main function of kidneys is removal of nitrogenous wastes through urine formation. Besides this the two kidneys play a determining role in regulating and maintaining The fluid volume of body, specific concentration of different ions in the body, osmolarity of body fluids and the acid base balance of body. There are many other functions of the kidney, such as : Neural control of kidney, hormonal control of kidney.

Disease of kidney

There are mainly some kidney diseases which are seen in people these days. Chronic kidney disease.

Such as :

•          Acute kidney disease
•          Glomerulonephritis
•          Kidney stone
•          Polycystic kidney disease
•          Hematuria
•          Kidney transplant
•          Proteinuria
•          Renal cyst
•          Chyluria
•          Congestive renal failure 

There are many other kidney diseases. Different types of kidney diseases are created due to different types of lifestyles.

What are the symptoms of kidney disease?

There are many examples such as :

•          Vomiting
•          Swelling hand and leg
•          Pain in abdomen
•          Urine infection(smelling, Burning sensation while urinating)
•          Shortness of breath
•          Urination is less
•          Itchy skin
•          not sleeping well
•          Felling more weak
•          Feel weak after walking a short distance

Diagnosis of kidney disease

There are different types of methods to know kidney disease, like we can do blood test, CT scan, ultrasound,  x-rays, uroflowmetry etc. It is very important to consult a doctor before doing all these tests. There are different types of diagnosis of kidney disease based on its symptoms.

In a blood test

·         Cbc

·         Urea,creatnine

·         Sodium potassium

·         Calcium

·         Magnesium

·         Uric acid

·         Liver function test

·         Rbc count

·         Wbc count

·         Haemoglobin

·         Urine routine microscopic

After seeing the symptoms of the patient, ultrasound, mri, ct scan can be done on the advice of the doctor.

Treatment of kidney disease

There are different types of treatments for kidney disease depending on its symptoms.

•       Life styles modification
•       Medicines
•       Dialysis
•       Kidney transplant

 Life styles modifications

If we have kidney disease in the first stages then we can treat ourselves through life styles modifications. Different types of spicy foods need to be avoided, alcohol and smoking need to be avoided as much as possible. You will have to drink at least 4-5 liters of water a day. You will have to exercise regularly. By doing all this we can avoid kidney disease.

Medicines

If the kidney disease is more than the first stage then we can take help of medicines. In this stage, the urea level in the blood will increase, there will be swelling in the feet, vomiting will occur. Urination will decrease slightly, there will be pain in the stomach. At this stage, doctor's help is necessary, medicines will have to be taken at this stage, otherwise dialysis may be required later. In this stage just changing the life style will not help. Along with the life style change you will have to take medicines also.

Dialysis

In this stage, the kidney function reduces by 90%. The kidney is unable to perform the excretion work in the body. This means that the kidney gets damaged by 90%. With the help of a machine, the entire blood is cleaned by filtering out urea and other bad materials from the blood and then that clean blood is released from the body.

Kidney transplant

In this stage the kidney is completely damaged. In this stage we have to bring a healthy kidney and transplant it into the kidney failure patient. With this treatment the patient can survive for a long time.

Can kidney disease be cured?

First we have to see if kidney disease is in first stage or acute stage then kidney disease can be cured. If kidney disease turns into chronic kidney disease then kidney disease will not be cured.

Prevention of kidney disease

To avoid kidney disease, we have to drink lots of water, make some changes in our life style, stay away from spicy food, alcohol and smoking, do daily exercise, maintain body weight.