Kidneys

How the kidneys work

Blood vessels and calf-pelvis system of the kidney

At birth, each human kidney contains about 1 million arterioles, or glomerules, small blood vessels, where blood containing toxins, excess salt or water is sent. Every 10 years lived, the number of arterioles in the kidneys is reduced by 100 thousand.

Renal vascular system

Diseases

• Nephrology is a field of medicine that is engaged in the study of the structure and functioning of the kidneys, the study of the causal relationship of the occurrence of diseases of this organ and the development of options for their effective treatment, including drug treatment, dialysis and transplantation.

• Kidney disease
• Renal failure
• Kidney cancer

Treatment of diseases

Urography

Main article: Urography

Removal of kidney stones

This is what kidney stones look like on X-rays

Technologies for removing kidney stones:

• Dakota (endoscopic device)

Dialysis

• Dialysis is a blood purification procedure that replaces kidney function in the event of kidney failure. If you do not do extracorporeal blood purification, then renal failure will lead to death.

Kidney transplantation

Main article: Kidney transplantation

HistoSonics: Histotripsy Platform

On March 31, 2023, HistoSonics announced the first kidney surgery using an advanced histotripsy platform. The procedure was performed in Leeds (Britain): a team of specialists was led by Professor Tze Min Wah, a senior consultant radiologist. Read more here.

Kidney Disease Diagnostic Technologies

2025: Russia has created AI to detect kidney cancer and assess risks after transplantation

Experts from MedTech AI, a joint venture between Beeline and Sechenov University, have developed and registered two solutions in Rospatent for diagnosing kidney diseases and supporting medical decision-making (SPPTD) in pathomorphology. They act as "second opinion" services that will be able to remove part of the routine work from doctors and reduce the duration of research, ensuring high accuracy of the result with prediction of the outcome of treatment and patient survival.

As representatives of Sechenov University on September 9, 2025 told Zdrav.Expert (part of the TAdviser media company), registration of solutions in Rospatent brought medical institutions closer to their use in clinics, as well as a significant reduction in the time for diagnosing diseases. Read more here.

2022

Mobile application for early detection of kidney disease released

In mid-July 2022, Healthy.io announced the launch of the Minuteful Kidney app, which allows early diagnosis of kidney disease at home. According to the developers, the service works on the basis of artificial intelligence, and the test itself requires only a smartphone available to the patient. Read more here

Handheld device for rapid diagnosis of kidney disease released

In mid-July 2022, a portable medical device was released for monitoring and early detection of chronic kidney disease, which affects approximately 9% of the world's population. The device can be used to serve rural and remote patients, as well as patients with limited medical services. Read more here.

Artificial kidney

Main article: Artificial kidney

Chronicle

2025: Operations to remove the kidney with the help of robotic surgeons began in Russia

Russian doctors have mastered the technology of robotic kidney removal in cancer. Specialists of the Republican Clinical Oncological Dispensary of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan named after Professor M.Z. Sigal for the first time in Tatarstan conducted a laparoscopic robot-assisted nephrectomy - an operation to remove a kidney affected by a malignant tumor using a robotic surgical system. This was reported on June 23, 2025. Read more here.

2024: Kidneys and nerves store memories like neurons. Scientific explanation

In mid-November 2024, a team of scientists at New York University showed that kidney and neural tissue cells are able to store memories like neurons, opening new avenues for studying memory and treating related disorders. Read more here.

2023: Company set up to develop kidney treatment technologies

On April 1, 2023, Medtronic and DaVita announced the formation of Mozarc Medical, which will specialize in the development of advanced kidney treatment technologies. Read more here.

2022: Kidney cells restored for the first time in the world

A team of researchers from Singapore and Germany has demonstrated for the first time in the world the possibility of regenerative therapy to restore kidney function. The results of the work were released in early December 2022. Read more here.