Question

What will happen if one kidney is removed from the body of a human being?

• A. Death due to poisoning
• B. Ureamia and death
• C. Stoppage of urination
• D. The person will survive and remain normal. The other kidney will become hypertrophied.

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

If one kidney is removed from the body of a human being, the remaining kidney will grow faster and become larger than normal. In fact, the remaining kidney can grow to become almost the same size as two combined kidneys. This helps it do all the work that two kidneys would normally do. This growth is called as compensatory growth.

It happens for many reasons. It can result from an increase in cell size (compensatory hypertrophy) or an increase in cell division (compensatory hyperplasia).

So, the correct answer is option D.