{"id":4013,"date":"2023-09-24T21:55:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T16:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/?p=4013"},"modified":"2023-09-24T21:55:48","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T16:25:48","slug":"excretory-system-part-3-structure-of-kidney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/excretory-system-part-3-structure-of-kidney\/","title":{"rendered":"Excretory System &#8211; Part 3 (Structure of Kidney)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The kidney is a vital organ of the urinary system responsible for filtering waste products, excess substances, and toxins from the blood to form urine. Understanding its structure is essential to comprehend its functions. Let&#8217;s elaborate on the structure of the kidney:<\/p>\n<p>**1. <strong>Renal Cortex:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Outermost region of the kidney.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Contains the glomeruli, where blood filtration begins, and the proximal and distal convoluted tubules where reabsorption and secretion occur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**2. <strong>Renal Medulla:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Lies beneath the renal cortex.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Contains renal pyramids, which are structures that collect urine from the nephrons and transport it to the renal pelvis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**3. <strong>Renal Pyramids:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Triangular-shaped structures within the renal medulla.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Collect urine from the nephrons and transport it to the renal pelvis through the renal tubules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**4. <strong>Renal Columns:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Extensions of the renal cortex that project into the renal medulla, dividing the pyramids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Provide support and maintain structural integrity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**5. <strong>Renal Pelvis:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Innermost region of the kidney.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Collects urine from the pyramids and transports it to the ureter for excretion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**6. <strong>Nephrons:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Functional units of the kidney, found in the renal cortex and extending into the renal medulla.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Filtration, reabsorption, and secretion processes occur here, leading to the formation of urine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Components:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Glomerulus:<\/strong> A network of capillaries where blood filtration begins.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renal Tubules (Proximal and Distal Convoluted Tubules):<\/strong> Involved in reabsorption and secretion processes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**7. <strong>Renal Artery and Vein:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Enter and exit the kidney, respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Provide oxygenated blood and carry deoxygenated blood to and from the kidney.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**8. <strong>Renal Capsule:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Outer covering of the kidney.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Protects the kidney from damage and maintains its shape.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>**9. <strong>Minor and Major Calyces:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Cup-like structures that collect urine from the renal pyramids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Channel urine into the renal pelvis for transport to the ureter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Understanding the structural components of the kidney is crucial in comprehending its functions related to filtration, reabsorption, secretion, and urine formation. The nephrons, in particular, play a pivotal role in these processes, making them the fundamental units of kidney function.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The kidney is a vital organ of the urinary system responsible for filtering waste products, excess substances, and toxins from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4013"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4015,"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013\/revisions\/4015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.askyogaexpert.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}