Nursing Challenge 1 The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs
that lie on either side of the spine in the lower middle of the
back. Each kidney weighs about ¼ pound and contains
approximately one million filtering units called nephrons. Each
nephron is made of a glomerulus and a tubule. The glomerulus is
a miniature filtering or sieving device while the tubule is a
tiny tube like structure attached to the glomerulus. http://www.
emedicinehealth.com/chronic_kidney_disease/article_em.htm The
kidneys are connected to the urinary bladder by tubes called
ureters. Urine is stored in the urinary bladder until the
bladder is emptied by urinating. The bladder is connected to the
outside of the body by another tube like structure called the
urethra. The main function of the kidneys is to remove waste
products and excess water from the blood. The kidneys process
about 200 liters of blood every day and produce about two liters
of urine. The waste products are generated from normal metabolic
processes including the brea