From the Perspective of Western Medicine, to See Kidney Function

The kidney referred to in Western medicine is the urinary organ in the human body, which has the functions of generating urine, excreting metabolic products, and automatically concentrating and diluting urine according to the human body's water demand so as to increase or decrease urine excretion. This mainly relies on the filtration and secretion of water by the glomerulus, and 99% of the water is reabsorbed by the renal tubules, ultimately excreting 1% of the water, thereby maintaining the dynamic balance of water electrolytes and acid-base ions, excreting toxins and drugs in the body, and playing a role in purifying the internal environment. In addition, the renin angiotensin aldosterone system has various bioactive effects, among which aldosterone has a sodium retention and potassium excretion effect, which has a significant impact on water sodium metabolism and can regulate water liquid balance.

From the above, it can be seen that in traditional Chinese medicine, the kidney governs water through the gasification and transpiration of kidney Yang, with warm and transformation, playing a leading role in water metabolism in the lungs, spleen, triple jiao, bladder, and small intestine. While in Western medicine, renal function is mainly reflected in the excretion of toxins in urine, regulation of water and electrolytes, maintenance of acid-base balance, and the spherical tube system that regulates water and liquid balance, which is the most important organ for human water metabolism. It is not difficult to see that the summary of the theory of kidney governing water contains the function of Western medicine in participating in water metabolism.