Kidney Function

Most people are born with two kidneys, each about the size of an adult fist, on either side of the spine just below the rib cage. Although small, your kidneys perform many complex and vital functions that keep the rest of the body in balance. For example, kidneys:

• Help remove waste and excess fluid from your body
• Filter the blood, keeping some compounds while removing others
• Help make red blood cells
• Balance important vitamins and minerals 
• Help maintain your blood pressure
• Keep bones healthy

Your kidneys are on either side of your spine, just below your rib cage. Inside each kidney are up to a million tiny parts called nephrons that help filter (clean) your blood. Once the kidneys filter the blood, the cleaned blood is sent back into the body, and the waste materials, now in the form of urine (pee), are moved into the bladder. The following is the filtering process for healthy kidneys – step-by-step:
 

1. Blood enters the kidneys through an artery from the heart
2. Blood is cleaned by passing through millions of tiny blood filters
3. Waste material passes through the ureter and is stored in the bladder as urine
4. Newly cleaned blood returns to the bloodstream through veins
5. When the bladder is full, urine leaves the body through the urethra