Urology
Pediatric Urology
Kidney
Function and Location
The kidneys, a part of the urinary system, are a pair of bean
shaped organs in the back of abdomen. They clean the body of
excess water, salt and waste products. As blood circulates
through the kidneys, it passes through more than a million
tiny filtering units within them. These filters produce a liquid
waste, urine.
Urine flows from the kidneys through a pair of thin tubes, the ureters, to the
bladder, where it is stored until a person urinates. During urination, the urine
leaves the body by passing from the bladder through another tube, the urethra,
which is open at one end.
The kidneys also produce important hormones that help regulate blood pressure, form bone, and control red blood cell production in bones.