It was widely believed in Europe that conscience was actually located in the kidneys. This idea was taken from the Hebrew bible. In modern times, medical scientists have shown kidneys do not have this kind of psychological role.
Kidneys are two organs in the abdomen of vertebrates that are shaped like beans. They make urine( the waste water that comes out of the urethra) and remove waste chemicals from the blood like urea.They are part of the urinary system and they are typically referred to as “Renal”.
The blood containing chemical wastes enters the kidneys through the renal arteries which is processed through the nephron. We might ask ourselves, Why are kidneys so important in our body’s internal environment?
The kidney’s most important work is keeping homeostasis. It means that the body keeps a stable environment inside itself which deals with the consistent and proper amount of water, salt and acid in the blood. If there is too much water the kidney puts more water in the urine and if there is not enough water the kidney uses less water in the urine. This is why people make less urine when they are dehydrated.
Kidneys also make hormones like erythropoietin that tell bone marrow to make more red blood cells and Renin hormone that make blood vessels smaller and tells adrenaline glands to produce aldosterone( which tells the kidney to save salt).
There are many types of kidney diseases and they might be mild with no symptoms or severe kidney failure diseases and include; kidney stones, kidney Infection which is a bacterial infection whose symptoms are back pain, vomiting, fever and dark or bloody urine. Other related diseases are
Glomerulonephritis, congenital kidney disease, diabetic and hypertensive nephropathy e.t.c.
To prevent the above diseases drink plenty of water, Eat a diet high in fruit and vegetables, exercise regularly don’t smoke and limit your alcohol in take e.t.c. Some of these mild or severe diseases can also be healed by strong antibiotics and renal replacement which involves ( hemo and peritoneal dialysis) and transplantation of the kidney.
A physiologist and a science writer homer William smith once said “The responsibility for maintaining the composition of the blood in respect to other constituents devolves largely upon the kidneys. It is no exaggeration to say that the composition of the blood is determined not by what the mouth ingests but by what the kidneys keep; there are master chemist Of our internal environment, which, so to speak, they synthesize in reverse”.
By: Shyaka Obed.
The Express News
