The kidneys play many important roles, including filtering wastes from the blood, regulating blood pressure and balancing fluid, salt and acid in the body. They are vital in producing red blood cells and vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones. Kidney health is therefore vital to overall health.
Healthy Kidneys & Urinary System
Your kidneys are shaped like beans and are about the size of your fist. They play a vital role in keeping the chemicals and water in your body balanced.
Your urinary system removes a waste called urea from your blood after the food you eat is broken down in your body.
Problems can occur in your kidneys and urinary system from aging, from illnesses or from injury. These problems can range from minor to life-threatening.
If you're having kidney or urinary tract problems, you should see your doctor for an evaluation.
Recently Answered
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Multiple Sclerosis Foundation answeredBladder issues can be identified as a failure to store or empty urine, or some combination of both. In the general population, there are many adults over 60 who have urinary incontinence, and it is twice as common in females. This is commonly due to anatomic or physiological changes that occur. Frequent urinary tract infections, obesity, and decreased mobility are also important risk factors. -
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See All 2 AnswersThe urinary system is composed of the kidneys, the ureter and the bladder. The kidneys drain the urine through the ureter, which is a long narrow tube that drains down into the bladder.
The kidney itself is composed of the meat of the kidney (the parenchyma) and the sink, or collecting system where the urine is secreted. Each ureter drains down into the bladder.
The bladder has multiple layers -- the internal layer of the bladder is called the mucosa, followed by the lamina propria layer of the bladder, the muscular layer of the bladder, and the fatty layer of the bladder. -
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Learn the important difference in the way men and women void urine. Watch this video with Kyle Himsl, MD from Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center. -
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The muscle that allows men to stop urinating midstream is the external striated sphincter. If a fire alarm went off and a man had to stop midstream and run out, this is the muscle that he would squeeze down to stop his stream.
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National Kidney Foundation answeredThe kidneys perform their life-sustaining job of filtering and returning to the bloodstream about 200 quarts of fluid every 24 hours. Approximately 2 quarts are eliminated from the body in the form of urine, while the remainder, about 198 quarts, is retained in the body. -
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National Kidney Foundation answeredDrinking water is important, but how do you get kids to drink more water? Parents can send a water bottle with lunch to school, instead of a juice box or sports drink. Make a habit when they are very young to serve water with every meal and snack. Kids like ice water, especially when the ice is made in a tray of shapes (like stars or hearts). Don't wait for your child to tell you he or she is thirsty. He or she may not realize it. Bring water to sports activities and to the park. Have a water bottle in the car on every trip.
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Jumo Health answeredSome people need an operation where the doctor makes a small hole through the abdomen into the bladder. This hole is called a stoma. When performing CISC, the catheter can be slipped through this stoma straight into the bladder where it drains away the urine. Urine shouldn’t leak out from the stoma because the muscles close around the hole when the catheter isn’t there.
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Jumo Health answered
Clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) shouldn't hurt, though it can seem strange at first. It gets easier with practice and soon it’ll only take a few minutes each time. People using CISC should talk to their doctor or nurse if they have a fever, if CISC is painful, or if urine is cloudy, smelly or has blood in it.
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Jumo Health answered
Treatment options for chronic kidney disease (CKD) include treating complications caused by CKD. For example, there are medicines to control high blood pressure, which help protect the heart and slow damage to the kidneys. Also, replacement hormones, such as erythropoietin and growth hormone, can be given. Special vitamin D can be taken for bone health. There is also the option of a kidney transplant.