Video narration
On the chalkboard, draw a bean-shaped kidney. The outer covering is the renal capsule. Just inside is the cortex, a lighter outer ring. Deeper is the medulla, shown as darker triangular sections called renal pyramids. Between pyramids are renal columns, and the pyramid tips—papillae—drip into small cups called minor calyces. Several minor calyces join to form major calyces, and those funnel into the renal pelvis, the central basin. From the pelvis, urine exits through the ureter, the tube leaving the kidney. At the indented side, the renal hilum is the doorway where the renal artery enters, the renal vein exits, and the ureter begins. So, think: capsule and cortex outside, medulla pyramids inside, then calyces to pelvis to ureter—organized like a set of funnels in a protective shell.