Kidneys

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

The system of urination and urination depends entirely on how the kidneys are developed and their proper functionality. Even if the kidneys undergo minor changes, it adversely affects the health of the whole organism.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]

What are the kidneys?

If you imagine an X-ray of a person in full growth, you can see that the kidneys located in the lumbar region are, as it were, suspended, and are delimited by the spinal column to the left and right. The kidneys have a ligamentous apparatus that is arranged in such a way that, at the time of inspiration or when the body moves, they can change their position, dropping slightly down, then returning to the starting point again. This "mobile" condition of the kidneys is necessary for a full-fledged process of urination. What can not 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 a "wandering kidney".

So. A certain mobility is permissible for normal kidney functionality, which allows them to pump about two thousand liters of blood per day, about one liter per minute. Uncleached 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 prevents a special valve, designed specifically for this purpose.

The filtrate of the arterial blood is called primary urine, the amount of which reaches about 150 liters a day. This is the primary infiltrate, in it, along with workings, there are also useful substances. To separate the beneficial from the harmful, kidney, re-filter. Useful substances are absorbed back into the blood, and harmful, settle in the renal pelvis, forming a secondary infiltrate, urine, which is excreted through the organs of urination: the ureters, the bladder and the urethra.

Kidneys take on not only large amounts of blood, but also have to confront all harmful substances and microorganisms that pass through them along with blood. In order to protect the body from the repeated return of all the harmful, the kidneys must work together and fully. In the event that a failure occurs in one kidney, the second can take on the full amount of work. However, a full-time life, if there is only one kidney is no longer possible. Therefore, you need to be careful about your health and conduct a regular preventive examination of all systems and organs, in order to timely detect inconsistencies in the indicators of the norm.

It would not be fair to talk about kidneys only as one of the body's filters. Undoubtedly, the filtering function is one of the priority, but in addition to performing filtering, 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, by which is meant the preservation and maintenance of the constancy of the internal environment of the organism; 
• the guardian of the water-salt balance, which keeps the delicate balance at the right level, giving commands in the form of thirst, in the case of a large preponderance towards salts, or frequent trips to the toilet and edema, with excess water; 
• controlling organ of the vessels. Kidneys contribute to the primary reaction of the vessels to any changes in the body, the walls of which are then compacted, then become loose, thanks 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 the diseases in which the kidneys are suffering severely affect the health of the whole organism as a whole.

Diseases in which the kidneys are affected

The most common diseases that cover different age groups, according to medical statistics, are nephritis and kidney stone disease. The nephrites are subdivided, depending on which structural element of the kidney has undergone the inflammatory process, pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis. In the first case, kidney tissue is affected, in the second case, only the glomeruli are involved, which are called glomeruli, which give the name to the inflammatory process in them.

Kidney stones are formed not in one day or even in a year. This is a long process, as a result of which salts, in excess in the infiltrates, primary and secondary urine, settle in the renal pelvis and crystallize. Small crystals, called sand, independently go out with urine, without causing any inconvenience to the body. Large salt crystals become like stones, and they can not go out alone or can not, or, through the narrow channels of the ureters, cause unbearable pain. It is possible to detect a urolithiasis, which proceeds asymptomatically, only by means of laboratory tests of urine.

Dystrophic degeneration of the tubules in the kidneys is caused by nephrosis. The development of such a disease is possible after severe poisonings, especially chemical substances, strong poisons. Postponed 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 major vessels, but also in the vessels of internal organs. Sclerotic lesions of the kidney vessels lead to the development of nephroangiosis. This disease mainly appears as a consequence of many years of hypertension, which, over time, has passed into a deep stage, which gives complications, including kidneys.

[7], [8], [9], [10]

How to identify that the kidneys are involved in the pathological process?

To carry out a diagnostic check of the state of the kidneys and of the entire urinary system, at present, is not difficult. If the kidneys are never disturbed, this does not mean that there are no pathological changes or processes in them. It is necessary, for personal comfort, once a year to undergo a full range of diagnostic procedures, passing general tests of urine and blood, passing an ultrasound examination of all important organs and systems. If necessary, you should seek help from specialists who perform diagnostics through a magnetic resonance or computer tomogram. The latter two methods are most effective for detecting the majority of diseases, including kidney, at the earliest stages.

If the kidneys have bothered many times and, nevertheless, there were no calls to the doctor, it is necessary to immediately make an appointment with a nephrologist, a urologist or, at least, a therapist. A professional examination at the doctor will reveal the most obvious symptoms that cause anxiety, decide on further actions and prescribe the correct course of treatment aimed at a quick recovery.

So that the kidneys do not hurt

It is difficult to imagine a person who has never had any health problems during his entire life. Maybe there are such people, but in modern life, with a low level of quality of drinking water and external environmental factors, it is difficult to keep health at a high level. However, there are measures that allow in due measure to avoid many negative factors. Having reliable information about low-quality drinking water, it is worthwhile to install household filters, which at the output will give clean and healthy water, which should be drunk 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 burden on the kidneys. Fruits, vegetables, cereals, soups and sour-milk products should prevail in the daily diet over carbohydrate food. One of the leading preventive methods will always be an active lifestyle. In order to be active, you do not need to get involved in any sport. Enough charging in the mornings for ten minutes, a cool shower and frequent hiking on foot during the day or, at least, frequent changes in body position, squats and a quick walk up the stairs. Kidneys will always gratefully react to a person's refusal from bad habits, especially from alcohol.