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Structure Of Kidney


Kidney is an important organ of our body. The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped structures located just below and behind the liver in the peritoneal cavity. Adrenal glands sit above each kidney and are also called suprarenal glands. Kidneys filter and purify the blood.


Kidneys filter and purify the blood. All the blood in the human body is filtered by the kidneys many times a day; These organs use about 25 percent of the oxygen absorbed through the lungs to perform this function. The filter that comes out from the kidney is called urine.


IMG_20230409_104934-1681017613724 Structure Of Kidney

External structure of kidney

External and Internal Features of Kidney

It has a convex and concave border.

Towards the inner concave side, a notch called the hilum is present through which the renal artery enters the kidney and the renal vein and ureter leave.

The outer layer of the kidney is a tough capsule.

On the inside, the kidney is divided into an outer renal cortex and an inner renal medulla.

The hilum extends inside the kidney into a funnel-like space called the renal pelvis.


Structure of kidney Notes


Waste disposal

Kidneys remove various waste products and excrete them in urine. Some of the main compounds that are removed by the kidneys are:

Externally, the kidney is surrounded by three layers, as shown in Figure 2. The outermost layer is a tough connective tissue layer called the renal fascia. The second layer is called the perirenal fat capsule, which helps anchor the kidney in place. The third and innermost layer is the renal capsule. Internally, the kidney has three regions – An outer cortex, a medulla in the middle, and the renal pelvis known as the hilum of the kidney. The hilum is the bean-shaped concave portion where blood vessels and nerves enter and exit the kidney.


Structure of kidney pdf

The renal cortex is granular due to the presence of the nephron, the functional unit of the kidney. The medulla consists of multiple pyramidal tissue masses, called renal pyramids. The spaces between the pyramids are called renal columns through which blood vessels pass. The tips of the pyramids, called renal papillae,


IMG_20230409_105001-1681017613480 Structure Of Kidney

kidney Structure And Function


Because the kidney filters blood, its network of blood vessels is an important component of its structure and function. Arteries, veins, and nerves supplying the kidneys enter and exit the renal hilum. Ends with the exit of the renal veins to join the inferior vena cava.


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Interlobar arteries and enter the renal column, which supply the renal lobes. The interlobar arteries divide at the junction of the renal cortex and medulla to form the arcuate arteriesArcuate “bow-shaped” arteries form an arc along the base of the medullary pyramid. Cortical radiating arteries, as the name suggests, radiate from the arcuate arteries. Cortical efferent arterioles divide into numerous afferent arterioles and then enter the capillaries supplying the nephron.

The functional unit of the kidney is the nephron, shown in Figure 3. Each kidney is made up of more than a million nephrons that are dotted in the renal cortex.




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By Bristy

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