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Anatomy & Physiology vocabulary · Digestive and Urinary Systems

Kidney

Meaning in anatomy & physiology, with examples

/ˈkɪdni/nounCore term

In anatomy & physiology, kidney means: One of the two bean-shaped organs at the back of the abdomen that filter the blood, remove waste and extra water as urine, and help to control blood pressure and salt balance.

In Turkish: böbrek

How it is used

The technical adjective is renal (renal artery, renal failure), and nephro- forms are also common (nephron, nephrology). The kidneys lie behind the peritoneum, roughly at the level of the T12 to L3 vertebrae.

Example sentences

  1. The right kidney usually sits a little lower than the left because of the liver.

  2. Each kidney contains around a million nephrons.

Common collocations

  • kidney function
  • renal artery
  • kidney stone
  • kidney failure
  • kidney transplant
  • nephro-A word part from Greek meaning 'kidney'. It appears in nephron (the filtering unit of the kidney), nephrology (the study of kidney disease) and nephrectomy (removal of a kidney).
  • bladderThe hollow, muscular organ in the pelvis that stores urine coming from the kidneys until it is passed out of the body through the urethra.
  • blood pressureThe force that circulating blood puts on the walls of the arteries. It is given as two numbers, systolic over diastolic, in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), for example 120/80.
  • homeostasisThe body's ability to keep its internal conditions, such as temperature, blood sugar and water balance, fairly stable even when the outside environment changes.

More terms: Digestive and Urinary Systems

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.