Dr. Thomas Nickolas, MD, MS, who had excellent mentors in nephrology while he was in medical school, decided to become a nephrologist himself. He is currently working at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights. Here he explains the important role of kidneys in our bodies and what nephrologists do.

Q: What is a kidney?

A: A kidney is your body's filter. It helps cleanse it of the impurities, or poisons, that the body makes all the time.

Q: Where are your kidneys located?

A: Everyone has two kidneys that are located in the back of your body--one on the right side near your lower back, the other on the left of that area.

Q: What happens if your kidneys fail?

A: Luckily, you only need one kidney to survive. So, if one of your kidneys stops working, you can still survive by going on dialysis or getting a kidney transplant.

Q: What does a nephrologist do?

A: A nephrologist is a doctor who treats kidney disease and other kidney problems. They help people whose kidneys stop working well to make sure they don't get worse. For people whose kidneys stop working completely, a nephrologist will put them on dialysis or help them get a kidney transplant.

Q: Who would go see a nephrologist?

A: A person who has a long-term disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol  is at a higher risk of having kidney problems, so he/she would go to a nephrologist. Long term diseases, like these, may damage the kidneys and make it harder to clean the blood. People with chronic diseases may have kidney disease and not even know about it, so they should see a nephrologist to make sure their kidneys don't get worse. It also might be a good idea for people with family members who have had kidney disease to go see a kidney specialist as well, since kidney disease runs in families.

Read more from Dr. Nickolas by clicking the links below:

• Kidney failure
• Treatments for kidney failure
• Kidneys regulate blood pressure
• Low cholesterol to keep your kidneys healthy
• Who's most likely to get kidney disease

To listen to our interview with Dr. Nickolas, click here for our podcast page.

Harlem Word is a series of interviews with Harlem health experts, written by HHPC and reviewed by our Health Advisory Board.