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The length of the adult kidney is normally 10–12 cm, and the right kidney is often slightly longer than the left kidney. The adult kidney size is variable due to the correlation with body height and age; however, normograms for pediatric kidney size are available. [1]
[2] [3] They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about 12 centimetres (4 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches) in length. [4] [5] They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood exits into the paired renal veins. Each kidney is attached to a ureter, a tube that carries excreted urine to the bladder.
Blood tests are also used to assess kidney function. These include tests that are intended to directly measure the function of the kidneys, as well as tests that assess the function of the kidneys by looking for evidence of problems associated with abnormal function. One of the measures of kidney function is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
Angiomyolipoma seen as a hyperechoic mass in the upper pole of an adult kidney on renal ultrasonography. Renal ultrasonography of a person with tuberous sclerosis and multiple angiomyolipomas in the kidney: Measurement of kidney length on the US image is illustrated by '+' and a dashed line. CT scan of a renal angiomyolipoma.
Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, family history, older age, ethnic group and smoking. For most patients, a GFR over 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 is adequate. But significant decline of the GFR from a previous test result can be an early indicator of kidney disease requiring medical intervention.
The pronephros is a functioning kidney of the embryo in bony fish and amphibian larvae, [7] but in mammals it is most often considered rudimentary and not functional. [18] In some lungfish and bony fishes, the pronephros can remain functional in adults, including often simultaneously with the mesonephros. [7]
Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging techniques) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscles, joints, blood vessels, and internal organs, to measure some characteristics (e.g., distances and velocities) or to generate an informative audible sound.
This filtrate then flows along the length of the nephron, which is a tubular structure lined by a single layer of specialized cells and surrounded by capillaries. The major functions of these lining cells are the reabsorption of water and small molecules from the filtrate into the blood, and the secretion of wastes from the blood into the urine.