Doctors can often see a large hiatus hernia on a chest x-ray. Otherwise, people are given barium in a liquid before x-rays are taken (barium swallow). The barium outlines the esophagus, making abnormalities easier to see. Hernias can also be seen during an upper endoscopy.
The kidneys filter the blood to remove wastes and produce urine. The ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra together form the urinary tract, which acts as a plumbing system to drain urine from the kidneys, store it, and then release it during urination.
The Kidney The Kidney has two main functions, it removes metabolic waste from the body through the process of excretion and it regulates the water and ion content in the blood. The excretion is of a dilute solution called urine which contains urea, mineral ions, water and other foreign chemicals from the blood.