Health And Kidney Disease

The Kidneys are one of the vital organs of the human body. The Kidneys complete the excretory functions of the body and help in effective removal of the toxic substances and waste products out of the body.

The importance of the kidneys cannot be stressed, because the human body is designed in such a way that each of the processes in the human body, be it respiration, digestion, circulation, creates a lot of waste products or toxic substances.

These waste products are highly harmful to health, and can even cause death and mortality, if left unremoved. The Kidneys bear the brunt of all the processes going on in the body, and effectively filter out all the unwanted matter out of the body through the renal system. The filtration is so effective that the quantities of the waste matter are in micro units.

Other than the basic function of Excretion, Kidneys perform other vital functions like maintenance of the water content of the body and tonicity of body fluids. About 2/3 rd of the filtered water is again reabsorbed in the proximal tubules of the kidneys and thus the hydration of the body is maintained.

The Kidneys also maintain the normal electrolyte balance of the body. The electrolytes like Sodium-Na? and Potassium- K? are very important in effective functioning of the heart and any disturbance in the normal levels of these electrolytes in the circulation can even cause sudden death, as the heart muscles are very sensitive to the concentration of these electrolytes.

The Kidneys also maintain a normal acid-base balance in the body. The basic mechanism is to regulate the excretion of hydrogen ion- H? and re-absorption and regeneration of the base bicarbonate-HCO??.

The Kidneys secrete a hormone called Renin, which helps in regulation of the blood pressure. The cells of the Kidney are sensitive and respond to the incoming arterial pressure, the changes in the composition of the tubular fluid and any change in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

The kidneys also secrete Erythropoietin which plays an important role in production of red blood cells.

Thus it is clear that Kidneys play a pivotal role in maintaining optimum health. Any disease affecting the Kidneys can immediately affect the health in a profound way.

The common Kidney diseases are Glomerulonephritis, Benign familial Haematuria, Alport's disease, Adult polycystic disease, Kidney stones, Diabetic Nephropathy, Good Pasteur's syndrome, Chronic renal Failure, Bright's disease, Nephro calcinosis, Renal Carcinoma etc.

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