March is National Kidney Month. SIU Medicine wants to help you learn more about these important organs, and how you can improve your kidney health. Kidneys 101 You have two kidneys—one on the left and one on the right side, below your rib cage. They are shaped like beans and roughly the size of your fist. They play a vital role in your health, filtering blood to remove toxins, waste products and excess fluids. Tiny structures in the kidneys called nephrons contain smaller filtering structures, the tubule and glomerulus. As blood flows through the kidneys, the glomerulus filters the blood and