Kidney diagram labeled

The kidneys are the waste filtering and disposal system of the body. As much as 1/3 of all blood leaving the heart passes into the kidneys to be filtered before flowing to the rest of the body's tissues.

Kidney anatomy location

While a person could live with only one functioning kidney, our kidneys are vital organs; the loss of both kidneys would lead to a rapid accumulation of wastes and death within a few days time.

Anatomy of the Kidneys

Location

The kidneys are a pair of organs found along the posterior muscular wall of the abdominal cavity.

The left kidney is located slightly more superior than the right kidney due to the larger size of the liver on the right side of the body. Unlike the other abdominal organs, the kidneys lie behind the peritoneum that lines the abdominal cavity and are thus considered to be retroperitoneal organs.

The ribs and muscles of the back protect the kidneys from external damage. Adipose tissue known as perirenal fat surrounds the kidneys and acts as protective padding.

Structure

The kidneys are bean-shaped with the conv

show the structure of kidney

show the picture of kidney stone