Kidney in Spanish

Where are the kidneys?

MedlinePlus says a person has two kidneys, each about the size of a fist, near the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) places them one on each side of the spine and says the kidneys, ureters, and bladder are part of the urinary tract.

How do the kidneys work?

NIDDK explains that each kidney is made up of about a million filtering units called nephrons. Each nephron includes a filter, called the glomerulus, and a tubule: the glomerulus filters the blood, and the tubule returns needed substances to the blood and removes wastes. Wastes and extra water become urine. Unfiltered blood flows into the kidneys through the renal artery, and filtered blood exits through the renal vein.

Terms built on the kidneys

English also uses the adjective renal: MedlinePlus gives renal diseases as another name for kidney diseases, and NIDDK names the renal artery and renal vein. MedlinePlus says most kidney diseases attack the nephrons and that chronic kidney disease damages the nephrons slowly over several years. Other kidney problems it lists include cancer, cysts, stones, and infections. MedlinePlus also uses the terms dialysis and kidney transplant for what is needed if the kidneys fail.

What it means

A kidney is one of two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist, located just below the rib cage, one on each side of the spine. The kidneys filter the blood, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the kidneys also maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals in the blood and make hormones that help control blood pressure, make red blood cells, and keep bones strong and healthy. A doctor can do blood and urine tests to check for kidney disease. In Spanish the term is riñón.

Kidney in Spanish

Spanish term: Riñón
Gender and article: masculine: el riñón (plural: los riñones)
Pronunciation: ree-NYOHN

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
renal	General	Adjective, not a noun: MedlinePlus en español gives "Enfermedades renales" as another name for its topic "Enfermedades de los riñones".

Riñón is the term used by both MedlinePlus en español and the Spanish pages of NIDDK. It is masculine, and the plural is written without the accent mark: el riñón, los riñones, as in Usted tiene dos riñones. The adjective is renal: MedlinePlus en español gives enfermedades renales and nefropatías as other names for its topic Enfermedades de los riñones, and NIDDK writes arteria renal and vena renal.

The two sources differ on one word: MedlinePlus en español calls the filtering units nefrones, and NIDDK calls them nefronas. Kidney stones appear on MedlinePlus en español as piedras en los riñones, and a kidney transplant as trasplante de riñón or trasplante renal. Other words used on that page are uréteres (ureters), vejiga (bladder), orina (urine), diálisis (dialysis) and enfermedad renal crónica (chronic kidney disease). NIDDK describes the kidneys as órganos en forma de frijol, where its English page says bean-shaped organs.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	Your lab results show that your kidneys are not filtering your blood as well as they should.	Sus resultados de laboratorio muestran que los riñones no le están filtrando la sangre tan bien como deberían.
Patient	Does that mean I have kidney disease?	¿Eso quiere decir que tengo una enfermedad de los riñones?
Clinician	Do you have diabetes or high blood pressure?	¿Tiene diabetes o presión arterial alta?
Clinician	Does anyone in your close family have kidney disease?	¿Alguien de su familia cercana tiene una enfermedad de los riñones?
Patient	My father was on dialysis for three years.	Mi padre estuvo en diálisis durante tres años.
Patient	I have pain in my back, just below my ribs, on the right side.	Tengo dolor en la espalda, justo debajo de las costillas, del lado derecho.
Clinician	Have you seen blood in your urine?	¿Ha visto sangre en la orina?
Clinician	I am going to order a urine test and a blood test to check your kidneys.	Voy a pedirle un análisis de orina y un análisis de sangre para revisar los riñones.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Kidney
Spanish (Español)	Riñón
Chinese (中文)	腎臟
Korean (한국어)	신장
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Thận
Filipino (Tagalog)	Bato (kidney)
Portuguese (Português)	Rim
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	ไต
Japanese (日本語)	腎臓

Where you'll see it

lab reportchartradiology reportdischarge summary

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Kidneys and urinary system

All terms in this area: Kidneys and urinary system — Riñones y vías urinarias

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.