kidneys
blood containing the metabolic wastes from cells. All the blood in the human body is filtered about 60 times a day by the kidneys. The nephrons remove wastes, concentrate them, and form urine that is collected in the bladder. Internally, the kidney has three regionsan outer cortex, a medulla in the middle, and the renal pelvis, which is the expanded end of the ureter. The renal cortex contains the nephronsthe functional unit of the kidney. The renal pelvis collects the urine and leads to the ureter on the outside of the kidney. The ureters are urine-bearing tubes that exit the kidney and empty into the urinary bladder.