Viscera (heart, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract)
Kidney
Ren (Nephros)
- Origin
- Paired retroperitoneal organs lying on either side of the vertebral column from T12 to L3 (right kidney is slightly lower due to the liver)
- Insertion
- Surrounded by renal capsule, perirenal fat, and Gerota's renal fascia; renal pelvis exits hilum to form the ureter
- Function
- Plasma ultrafiltration, excretion of metabolic waste (urea, creatinine), regulation of fluid/electrolytes and acid-base balance, production of renin (RAAS), erythropoietin (EPO), and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3
- Innervation
- Renal plexus (sympathetic T10-L1, parasympathetic vagus)
- Movement & chain
- Descends 2-3 cm with diaphragmatic respiration
- Palpation
- Bimanual renal ballottement; costovertebral angle (CVA) tenderness test for pyelonephritis
- Clinical
- Acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), nephrolithiasis (renal colic radiating to groin), pyelonephritis, renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
- Segmental innervation
- T10-L1 spinal segments (flank pain radiating to inguinal region and scrotum/labia)
- In clinical practice
- Fluid balance documentation, serum creatinine and eGFR monitoring, hemodialysis access management, post-renal transplant immunosuppressive protocols
- Region in the model
- Viscera (heart, lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract)