Video Transcript
If the kidneys do not function
properly, some substances will not be removed from the body. Which waste substance would you
expect to build up in the blood of someone with kidney failure? (A) Urea, (B) carbon dioxide, (C)
glucose, (D) dead red blood cells, or (E) bile.
The kidneys are organs that filter
waste from the blood. This question lists several
substances and then asks us which of them is a waste substance that we would expect
to find built up in the blood of someone who has kidney failure. The kidneys are two fist-sized,
bean-shaped organs found near the base of the rib cage on either side of the
spine. The kidneys are organs in the
urinary system, and they’re responsible for producing urine.
Urine is a
light-yellow-to-amber-colored liquid that contains water, ions, and soluble waste
products such as urea. When our kidneys fail, urine is
less efficiently produced, which means that the waste products found in urine, such
as urea, are likely to build up in the blood. So the waste substance that you
would expect to build up in the blood of someone with kidney failure is urea.
