39. The renal system
39. The renal system
- Gillian Pocock, Gillian PocockSenior Lecturer in Clinical Science, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK
- Christopher D. RichardsChristopher D. RichardsEmeritus Professor of Experimental Physiology, Division of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- and David A. RichardsDavid A. RichardsAssociate Professor, Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Husson University School of Pharmacy, Bangor, Maine, USA
Abstract
This chapter discusses how human beings, like all animals, feed on other organisms both to provide energy and to provide themselves with the resources required for growth and reproduction. This lifestyle inevitably leads to the intake of variable quantities of essential body constituents to the production of metabolic waste products. It details how the body needs to maintain a close control over the composition of body fluids, which is the principal role carried out by the kidneys. The chapter refers to how body fluids are maintained by the composition of the blood and how the kidneys effectively regulate the composition of the extracellular fluid. In doing so, the kidneys excrete the excess water, salts, and metabolic waste products.
