Introduction - Kidney

In the part "Kidney" you will find some information about anatomy and physiology of the kidney (urine production and composition)
Kidney is a tubular glandular organ, located retroperitoneally adjacent to the spine, at the twelfth rib level, the right kidney being situated lower than the left one. The kidney consists of a cortex and a medulla.

The kidney has five main functions in the body:

 production of urine,
 regulation of the water and electrolyte balance,
 regulation of the acid - base balance,
 removal of harmful and foreign substance from the body, and
 hormonal function (renin, prostaglandins, and erythropoietin).

Through selective filtration, the kidney eliminates excessive substances to maintain their balance, whereas useful substances are being returned to the body. Therefore, the kidney plays a key role in the process of maintaining optimal chemical composition of body fluids. The kidney acts fast, translating each modification in the body fluid composition into the respective change of urine composition.