KIDNEY ( Shape & Size)

KIDNEY 

Shape & Size

▸ Kidneys are reddish brown, bean shaped structures.

▸ Situated between the levels of last thoracic and third lumbar vertebra close to the dorsal inner wall of the abdominal cavity.

▸ Each kidney of an adult human measures 10-12 cm in length, 5-7 cm in width, 2-3 cm in thickness with an average weight of 120-170 g.

► Inner to the hilum is a broad funnel shaped space called the renal pelvis with projections called calyces.

► The outer layer of kidney is a tough capsule.

► Inside the kidney, there are two zones, an outer cortex and an inner medulla.

► The medulla is divided into a few conical masses (medullary pyramids) projecting into the calyces (sing.: calyx).

► The cortex extends in between the medullary pyramids as renal columns called Columns of Bertini