Each year approximately 30,000 new cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed and over 10,000 die of the disease.

Anatomy and Physiology

The kidneys are a pair of bean shaped reddish-brown organs that lie on either side of the spinal column and just below the diaphragm. They are about 5 inches (12.5 cm.) long and 3 inches (7.5 cm.) wide (Figure 1)

Figure 1. Anatomy of the kidney. The upper portion of the kidney is cut away to expose the cortex, calyxes and renal pelvis. The renal artery and ureter enter and the renal vein leaves the kidney at the hilus. The adrenal gland rests on the upper pole of the kidney. © N. Gordon