Kidney

human body · filters · health

Bean-shaped pair. You have two reddish-brown kidneys, one on each side, and they're shaped just like kidney beans. In adults, each is about 12 centimeters long.

Blood cleaners. Kidneys filter your blood, removing waste and extra water. Clean blood flows back into your body through the renal veins.

Making urine. The waste and extra water your kidneys remove becomes urine, which travels down a tube called the ureter to your bladder.

Tucked in back. Your kidneys sit toward your back, behind most of your other organs, in a space called the retroperitoneal space.