Kidney Kidney The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood exits into the paired renal veins. Each kidney is attached to a ureter, a tube that carries excreted urine to the bladder. The nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney. Each adult kidney contains around 1 million nephrons. The nephron utilizes four processes to alter the blood plasma which flows to it: filtration, reabsorption, secretion, and excretion. The
Inferior vesical artery Inferior vesical artery The inferior vesical artery or inferior vesicle artery is an artery in the pelvis that supplies the lower part of the bladder. The inferior vesical artery is a branch (direct or indirect) of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery. It frequently arises in common with the middle rectal artery, and is distributed to the fundus of the bladder. In males, it also supplies the prostate and the seminal vesicles. The branches to the prostate communicate with the corresponding vessels of the opposite side. Some texts consider it to be found only in males, and cite