In human body the most important organ is heart because it provides purified blood to whole body. Along with heart there is one more organ system which purifies the blood and also helps to remove the waste materials from the body. The human kidney not only purifies the blood but also regulates the electrolyte balance of the blood. Kidneys also balance the pH of body fluid. This organ system is known as “excretory system” which includes a pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary bladder, urethra and two sphincter muscles.
Antomy and Physiology of Kidney
The human kidney is bean-shaped and reddish brown in color. The average size of adult kidney is approximately 4 inches long and 2 inches wide. The renal artery carries blood to the kidney contains waste material. Inside each kidney there are millions of filtering units present called as nephrons. These nephrons filter the blood by removing the waste material like urea, certain mineral salts and toxins? Some essential components like glucose, certain minerals, water etc carried by the renal vein to the blood stream. The waste material in the form of urine is carried through pair of ureters to the urinary bladder and from there it expelled out from the body. Though sometimes this process gets disturbed by a painful barrier called “kidney stone”. A kidney stone is the deposition of mineral salts and other substances which forms a solid mass in the kidney. The minerals involved in the formation of kidney stone are calcium, phosphate and oxalate. There are several factors contributing in the formation of kidney stone which are listed below:
- Diet: If a person is susceptible to form kidney stone he should cut off calcium from diet.
- Hereditary: Formation of kidney stone can be hereditary.
- Drugs: The medicines like diuretics or calcium containing antacids can put you at risk of forming kidney stone.
- Diseases: Some diseases like Crohn’s disease, urinary tract infections, renal tubular acidosis, hyperparathyroidism etc leads to kidney stone.
Kidney Stone Treatments
The kidney stone symptoms are extreme pain in the back and lower pain and also vomiting and nausea. The diagnosis of kidney stone is done by x-ray or ultrasound test. Some blood and urine test are also done to know the abnormal substances in the blood causing kidney stone. The treatment for kidney stone include a surgical procedure known as “Lithotripsy” in which the large kidney stones in the kidney are cut into small ones by shock waves. The other kidney stone surgery is “Endoscopy” or “Ureteroscopy”. In this type of kidney stone surgery, the kidney stone is removed or broke into small pieces with the help of an instrument called “ureteroscope”. Kidney stone treatment also includes oral medications such as diuretics like hydrochlorothiazide which helps to lower the calcium level released by kidneys and helps to prevent kidney stone formation.
Prevention is always better then cure so you can prevent kidney stone by changing your diet. You can avoid high oxalate food like dark green vegetables, nuts and chocolates. You can include high fiber diet like whole wheat bread, wheat cereals, cabbage and carrots. You should drink plenty of water and avoid grapefruit juice and cola. You can also lower the salt content of your food. This is how you can prevent kidney stone easily with little changes in your diet and life style.
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