Question

Describe the structure of a human kidney with the help of a labelled diagram.

Answer 1

Kidney:

• Kidneys are present as a pair of reddish-brown bean-shaped organs that are located in the retroperitoneal cavity.
• On the medial side, each kidney has a concavity, called the hilum through which ureters enter the kidney along blood vessels, lymph vessels, and nerves.

Regions within the kidney:

Internally the kidney is composed of two regions, an outer cortex, and an inner medulla.

Renal Pelvis:

• Renal Pelvis is the funnel-shaped structure present in the inner hilum.
• It has an inner zone- medulla, and an outer zone- cortex. The two or three major calyces join together at the renal pelvis.
• It functions as a passage for the flow of urine to the ureter.

Medulla:

• Medulla consists of several cone-shaped medullary pyramids. These structures are connected to the calyces.
• The renal pyramid contains a dense network of nephrons.
• The loop of Henle of the neuron is located in the medulla.

Cortex:

• The renal cortex is the outer light red area of the kidney. It consists of the glomerulus and convoluted tubules.
• The portion of the cortex that extends between the medullary pyramids is called as Columns of Bertini or renal columns.

Diagram of the kidney: