The renal system is the integrated set of organs that filters blood, regulates fluid and electrolyte balance, and excretes metabolic waste as urine. It comprises the paired kidneys, where the functional units called nephrons perform glomerular filtration and tubular reabsorption and secretion, together with the uret…
The renal system is the integrated set of organs that filters blood, regulates fluid and electrolyte balance, and excretes metabolic waste as urine. It comprises the paired kidneys, where the functional units called nephrons perform glomerular filtration and tubular reabsorption and secretion, together with the ureters, bladder, and urethra that store and conduct urine. Beyond waste clearance, the renal system maintains acid-base homeostasis, controls sodium, potassium, and water balance, regulates arterial blood pressure through the renin-angiotensin system, and contributes endocrine functions such as erythropoietin production and vitamin D activation. Renal physiology is tightly coupled to cardiovascular function, so disorders of one system commonly affect the other. Clinically important conditions include chronic kidney disease and its staging, hydronephrosis from obstruction, polycystic kidney disease, and renovascular hypertension, in which narrowing of renal arteries drives systemic pressure and cardiac and kidney remodeling. The system is also vulnerable to iatrogenic injury, for example from iodinated radiographic contrast agents, and its dysfunction can disturb distant endocrine axes such as thyroid hormone metabolism. Evaluation typically relies on estimated glomerular filtration rate, urinalysis, imaging, and biomarkers that together characterize renal structure and function.
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