Anatomy

    

micro video: Richard Freeman on the kidney wings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1tI6_TOEwo

The Kidneys

The kidneys are 2 reddish, bean-shaped organs located on either side of the spine in the middle of the back. Their main job is to filter the blood. Each kidney contains about a million tiny filters that can process around 40 gallons of fluid every day—about enough to fill a house’s hot water heater. When blood passes through the kidney, the filters sift and hold onto the substances the body might need, such as certain nutrients and much of the water. Harmful wastes and extra water and nutrients are routed to the nearby bladder and flushed away as urine. 

The asymmetry of the kidneys within the abdominal cavity is caused by the position of the liver and typically results in the right kidney being slightly lower and smaller than the left, and being placed slightly more to the middle than the left kidney. The left kidney is approximately at the vertebral level T12 to L3, and the right is slightly lower. 

The right kidney sits just below the diaphragm and posterior to the liver, the left sits below the diaphragm and posterior to the spleen. 

Resting on top of each kidney is an adrenal gland.  Each kidney together with its adrenal gland is surrounded by two layers of fat and the renal fascia. 


The Gastrocnemius and Soleus Muscles

The Gastrocnemius muscle lies on top

of the Soleus, running from behind the

knee to the ankle joints. It is the less

powerful plantar flexor when compared

with the soleus muscle and comprises two

parts: the Medial head and

the Lateral head. The origin point of

the Medial head arises from

the medial condoyle (knob) of the femur,

and the origin point of

the Lateral head arises from

the lateral condyle of the femur. The

Gastrocnemius muscle forms two bellies

that lay side-by-side, merge mid calf and

eventually merge into the Tendo

Calcaneous (Achilles Tendon). The two

heads share the same insertion point with

the tendon on the soleus.

The action of the gastrocnemius is

plantarflexion (pointing the foot), running,

jumping and other “fast” movements of the

leg.

The Soleus muscle is a complex muscle that

is more powerful than the Gastrocnemius

muscle and has multiple origin points arising

from the posterior head of the fibula and

down along a quarter of its shaft, as well as

from a fibrous band between

the fibula and tibia, then along the soleal line

on the tibia.

The soleus muscle fibers merge into a large

tendon which joins with the tendo

calcaneous (Achilles Tendon) and the tendon

for the gastrocnemius muscle before

it’s insertion point on the calcaneous bone, the

heel bone.

The action of the soleus, along with the

gastrocnemius, is plantarflexion of the foot.

Both muscle groups are also vital in walking,

running, bending the leg, and jumping.

The soleus specifically plays an

important role in maintaining standing

posture; if not for its constant pull, the

body would fall forward.

Also, in upright posture, the soleus is

responsible for pumping venous blood

back into the heart from the periphery,

and is often called the skeletal-muscle pump

or the peripheral heart.
                                                   


   What Are the Hip Flexors?


In anatomy, a flexion is a movement that decreases the angle between two bones at a joint. For example, your elbow joint flexes when you bring your hand closer to the shoulder. Flexion is typically instigated by muscle contraction. A muscle that flexes a joint is called a flexor. Hip flexors are the group of  
                   muscles that allow us to bend at the waist and lift our knees.