What is the primary function of the kidneys?
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located above the waist, near the spine, beneath the lower ribs. Each kidney is a little bit bigger than your fist. What the kidneys provide are important in many bodily functions such as:
- Control the amount of water and other substances in your body such as potassium, sodium, calcium, and phosphorous
- Rid the body of waste products such as urea and creatinine
- Help regulate blood pressure control
- Stimulate red blood cell production
- Help maintain your body’s acid-base balance
- Excrete many drugs
- Clean and control the amount of blood in the body
- Make hormones that help bone marrow produce red blood cells
What happens if the kidneys are not properly functioning?
Over time, a person’s kidneys can be severely damaged before he or she feels ill. This can be caused from a condition that has been attacking the kidneys for a long time, or something you may have been born with. Also, long-time use of over-the-counter pain medicines may result in diminished kidney function.
Some signs and symptoms of kidney disease:
- Edema (swelling)
- Change in urination
- Shortness of breath
- Confusion
- Tiredness
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
Some things that may cause kidney disease:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Kidney stones
- Cancer
- Infection
- Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney)
- Polycystic kidneys (cluster of cysts that develop on the kidney)
Kidney disease can progress into kidney failure if:
- It has not been diagnosed early enough
- It has not been treated early enough
- The patient has not responded to the treatment
Physicians
 |
 |
| Wayne C. Waltzer, MD, FACS Professor & Chairman of Urology Kidney Transplantation Urologic Oncology |
Frank S. Darras, MD, FACS Professor Kidney Transplantation General Urology |