Where Are Your Kidneys?
The kidneys are shaped like two beans on either side of your spine behind your ribs. They are given blood by the Renal arteries and the blood comes out of the kidneys from the Renal veins. There are other pipes coming out of the kidneys and these are called ureters and carry urine to the bladder where it is stored until you can go to the toilet.
What Do The Kidneys Do?
You usually have two kidneys and each of them work to help maintain your body in balance by
- Clearing water you do not need
- Clearing waste products that are filtered from the blood stream
- Keeping different types of electrolytes and chemicals in balance in your body
- Talking (using special hormones) to the bone marrow to make red blood cells
- Talking ( using special hormones) to glands in your neck to tell the bones to release or deposit minerals
Kidneys and High Blood Pressure
The kidneys are one of the organs involved in managing your blood pressure.