30 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Kidneys | Amazing Facts 4U
- Kidneys measure around 12 cm in length about size of a computer mouse. They are shaped like beans. Each individual kidney weighs around 140 gms. In kidneys form only 0.5% of the body weight.
- Almost 25% of the blood pumped by the heart goes to the kidneys.This is higher the blood flow in heart, liver and brain.
- Kidneys are responsible for maintaining a constant amount of fluid in the body and the chemical balance of the body. The entire blood in the body gets filtered around 400 times in a day through them.
- Throughout the day, the kidneys filter and produce around 1000 to 2000 milliliters of urine. So in general we excrete around 1.5 liter urine on an average in a single day.
- In case of dehydration, kidneys compensates by stopping production of urine until hydration is restored and blood volume increases.
- The new born have the kidney to body weight ratio is 3 times that of adults.
- 50 % of one single kidney is capable of doing the job that is performed by two kidneys together. This happens because the nephrons are capable of enlarging and handling excess load by hypertrophy.
- Each kidney consists of about 1 to 2 million nephrons which are very tiny filters capable of filtering blood and eliminating the waste materials.
- If the nephrons in both kidneys are taken out and placed end to end, they will cover a distance of about 16 kilometers.
- After the age of 40, the number of functional nephrons present in each kidney start falling at a rate of 1% a year but this is partly compensated by nephrons having a tendency to enlarge before destruction.
- The kidneys receive about 1000 to 1200 ml of blood every minute. Every day, kidneys filter the blood about 50 times. The kidneys reabsorb and redistribute 99% of the blood volume and only 0.1% of the blood filtered becomes urine to be excreted.
- The yellow colour of urine is due to bilirubin which is a pigment formed as a result of about 1% of our blood getting destroyed every day.
- If the blood pressure in kidneys decreases, kidneys send out signals to the rest of the body resulting in the blood vessels getting constricted to increase the pressure ensuring that blood reaches every part of the body.
- If the oxygen content of the blood falls, the kidneys can sense it creating a hormone which triggers increased production of red blood cells which are responsible for carrying oxygen.
- Malfunctioning kidneys can lead to the development of anemia. It has been shown that most anemic patients usually suffer from some kind of kidney disease.
- Kidneys are connected to bladder with the help of two tubes known as ureters. Urine is stored in the bladder for 1 to 8 hours. After bladder is more than half full , signals are sent to the brain that it is time to urinate.
- Kidneys can activate vitamin D production in our body. This vitamin is usually produced by special skin cells when they are exposed to sunlight. If the skin fails, the job passes on to the livers. If the liver fails, the job finally goes to the kidneys.
- You may be born with only one kidney which hypertrophies eventually growing to the combined weight of two kidneys.
- Kidney stones are an accumulation of mineral salts and mostly combined with calcium which can lodge anywhere along the course of the urinary tract. Excessive. High antacids and milk can promote kidney stones sugar level in diabetis also stimulate the pancreas to release insulin which causes extra calcium to be excreted in the urine leading to kidney stones.
- Drinking 6 – 8 glasses of water or other drinks such as fruit juice each day will keep your kidneys in good condition.
- Kidney disease can never be reversed. Its progression can only be slowed down.
- High BP and diabetes can both lead to failure of kidneys.
- When the kidney functions are completely lost, it is known as ESRD or End Stage Renal Disease. People suffering with ESRD can live longer only with help of kidney transplant or dialysis.
- The first ever kidney transplant was conducted by Yuri Voronoy, a Russian surgeon in year 1933 which failed. The first ever successful kidney transplant was conducted by Dr. Joseph E. Murray in December 1954 which was between two identical twins.
- About 1/3 rd of transplanted kidneys come from living relatives and about 2/3 rd are from someone who died recently.
- Kidney transplant would be generally put in your pelvis and the disabled kidney will not be extracted.
- Only one donated Kidney is needed to replace two failed Kidneys and the life expectancy of someone who donates a kidney is the same as the general population. There is no extra risk.
- Nearly 500 million people globally i.e. About 10% of global adult population are believed to suffer from some kind of kidney problem/damage.
- Nearly 1.5 million people globally go through kidney transplant or kidney dialysis.
- The adrenal glands lie right above the kidneys and release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
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