Pierre and Marie Curie are best known for their pioneering work in the study of radioactivity, which led to their discovery in 1898 of the elements radium and polonium. Marie Curie, b.
Its functions are vital to life and are regulated by the endocrine system by hormones such as antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone, and parathyroid hormone. In humans, a normal kidney contains 800,000 to 1.5 million nephrons.
Normal kidneys and kidney function. 1  The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs that lie on either side of the spine in the lower middle of the back.  Each kidney weighs about 5 ounces and contains approximately one million filtering units called nephrons.