Kidney Function

The kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a closed hand. Are located near the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are a complex machine reprocessing. Daily purify about 190 liters of blood around 1.9 liters to filter waste and excess water. The waste and excess water becomes urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The bladder stores urine until you urinate.

The waste in the blood are formed by the breakdown of normal tissues and assets of the food consumed. The body uses food as a source of energy for their own repairs. After the body takes what it needs for food, sending debris in the blood. If the kidneys do not filter these wastes are accumulate in the blood and damage the body.

Seepage occurs in small units in the kidneys nefronas calls. Each kidney has about a million nephrons. In the nephron, a small blood vessel or capillary called glomerulus is intertwined with a small tube called a tubule urine collector. Is a complicated exchange of chemicals as waste and water leave the blood and into the urinary system.

At first, the tubules receive a mixture of wastes and chemicals that the body can still use. The kidneys measure chemicals such as sodium, phosphorus and potassium. Then sent back to the blood, which then returned to the body. That way, the kidneys regulate the levels of these substances in the body. You need a balance to sustain life, excessive levels can be harmful.

In addition to eliminating waste, the kidneys release three important hormones:

• Erythropoietin – stimulates production of red blood cells by bone marrow
• Renin – regulates blood pressure
• Calcitrol – the active form of vitamin D, which helps maintain calcium for bones and for normal chemical balance in the body

Proper Kidney Function

A team of medical professionals may refer to the work of the kidneys as kidney function. If both kidneys are healthy for your body, renal function is 100 percent. In fact, a kidney function of 100 percent is more than necessary. Some people are born with one kidney and lead a normal and healthy life. Many people donate a kidney for transplant to a relative or friend. It is possible that a small reduction of kidney function does not cause any problems.

However, many people with reduced kidney function have a kidney disease that will worsen with time. If you have less than 25 percent of kidney function complete, will have serious health problems. If your kidney function is reduced to less than 10 to 15 percent, may not live long without some form of replacement therapy in renal function, either dialysis or transplantation.

Nephrology is the medical specialty that deals with the kidney disease, its diagnosis and treatment. In the exercise could distinguish a level of primary health care, with some central issues such as urinary tract infections, hypertension, diseases and lithiasis glomerulopathies. And another very specific, referring to the establishment and management of alternative methods of kidney function (dialysis).

Through records of dialysis and transplantation in the world, we can infer that there are three conditions that determine the most frequent loss of kidney function. They are glomerulopathies, hypertension and diabetes. While the world these diseases are more responsible for the kidney, its distribution is uneven and, especially, Latin America has some differences with other regions of the planet.

The glomerulopathies are pathological processes that affect the glomerulus. We can quote the acute nephritic syndrome (or acute glomerulonephritis) and chronic nephron diseases. Nephrotic syndrome is a set of signs of permeability of the glomerular capillary membrane.

The Latin American Registry of Dialysis and Transplantation accuses these diseases as the most frequent cause of loss of kidney function. Which means that this region is necessary to work much more intensively in the early diagnosis and treatment of these conditions Glomerular.

According to the type of kidney disease that denote the histological study, there are opportunities to implement more effective therapeutic and prevent the development of renal failure that requires alternative methods.

The drugs used to treat these diseases are not exempt from certain risks and side effects, but today can be handled more safely and effectively.