Parent & Patient Information System 06/09/2015 Page28 / 51 Blood is transported to kidneys by renal artery (the vessel carrying the clean, oxygenated blood from heart to peripheral organs). Renal artery enters to the kidneys from the notch of the bean in the middle and gives lots of branches within the organ. Each arteriole (the small sized artery) reaches a unit called nephron. Nephron is the single unit of filtration which is enveloped by the arterioles. Each kidney has about 1 million nephrons. When the capillaries (the smallest vessels) enter the nephron unit, they form a clump and this structure is named as glomerule. Blood is filtered through these capillaries and the filtered fluid moves along very thiny tubes called tubules. Within these tubules, the contents of urine (salt, water, waste products) are regulated. The filtered blood exits the kidney by renal vein (vessels carrying the deoxygenated blood from peripheral organs to heart). Kidney has a very dark red color because of its rich vascularity. Urine, as a final product, is a solution containing water, urea (end product of protein degradation), salt, aminoacid, by-products of bile, ammonia and all the substances which couldn’t be absorbed back. The color of urine is due to the presence of a substance called urochrome, a blood product. The urine draining from the calyces begin to collect in a place called renal pelvis which is located at the behind the renal vessels at the level of the notch of the bean. Out of the kidney
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