What
Your Kidneys Do?
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Before we can understand how our kidneys work, it is important to know a little bit about the two 'bean-shaped' organs we each have. Your kidneys are located beneath the rib cage on both sides of the spine and have about a million nephrons each.
These nephrons contain small blood vessels contained within a tightly-regulated system that together serves as filtering units.
Cleaning The Blood
The primary job of the kidneys is to clean blood. They filter and
remove waste and excess fluid from thousands of pints of blood
daily. They are responsible for ensuring the body remains healthy by
retaining its chemical balance.
If both kidneys are working properly, the body has 100% renal function. Actually, even if we only have one healthy kidney, it is sufficient to filter the blood efficiently.
Synthesis of Red Blood Cells
One of the lesser-known functions of the kidney is the role it plays
in the synthesis of red blood cells. The kidney produces a hormone
called erythropoietin, which promotes the formation of red blood
cells in the none marrow.
There are certain cells within the kidney that are responsible for this job and they are sensitive to sudden changes in oxygen levels in the blood. When they detect that oxygen levels within the kidneys are low, they release erythropoietins, which, in turn stimulate the bone marrow to form more red blood cells. The ability of the blood to carry more oxygen is, thus, increased.
Blood Pressure Regulator
Kidneys also play a key role in controlling the blood pressure. Not
only do they maintain the balance of fluids, kidneys react to low
blood pressure by releasing the hormone renin, which sets off a
cascade of actions that promotes water retention.
However, kidneys are at the receiving end of changes in blood pressure. High blood pressure not only damages the kidneys, but may escalate further when the kidneys are damaged and unable to excrete fluids. Thus, the kidney has an important role in keeping blood pressure at normal levels.
High blood pressure or hypertension causes the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. Over time, this causes significant damage to blood vessels. Once the blood vessels within the kidney are damages, the other functions of this organ become impaired and can no longer get rid of waste and excess fluid efficiently. The excess fluid within the body further increases blood pressure levels.
Bone-Strength Preserver
The kidneys also help maintain a proper balance of calcium and
phosphorus in the blood. Renal osteodystrophy is a disease that
results when kidneys fail to carry out this function.
Healthy kidneys produce a type of vitamin D known as calcitriol. Calcitriol promotes calcium absorption from food into the blood and bones, and works with the parathyroid hormone to maintain a normal balance of calcium in the body.
But when damaged kidneys are unable to produce calcitriol to absord calcium from food, the parathyroid hormone level increases. The parathyroid hormone in turn, strip calcium from bones to maintain body's calcium levels as it is unable to prolonged removal of calcium from the body's storage can result in brittle bones and osteoporosis.
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