The Kidney has an external part called the renal cortex and an internal part called the renal medulla.

• The renal cortex contains 75% of the glomeruli, the site where Blood is purified and filtered, this being the first process of urine formation. It receives 90% of renal blood and its main function is filtration, reabsorption and secretion.

• The renal medulla is composed of conical structures called renal pyramids. At the apex of each renal pyramid are the renal papillae, proximal to the hilum.

• The renal papilla is the receptor that discharges urine toward the ureters.

• The hilum is where the renal artery enters, the renal vein and ureters exit; it is the concave portion of the kidneys that faces inward.

Urine reaches the bladder from both kidneys through the ureters to be excreted via the urethra.

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