KIDNEY AND ASSOCIATEDDISEASES

KIDNEY: NORMAL STRUCTURE Kidneys are a pair of bean shaped organs, each weighing about 150gm in the adult male and about 135gm in the adult female.Cut surface of the kidney shows 3 main structures: peripheral cortex, inner medulla and innermost renal pelvis.RENAL CORTEX: It forms the outer rim of the kidney and is about 1cm in thickness. It contains all the glomeruli and about 85% of the nephron tubules.RENAL MEDULLA: It is composed of 8-18 cone shaped renal pyramids The base of a pyramid lies adjacent to the outer cortex and the apex of each called renal papilla contains the opening of each pyramid.RENAL PELVIS: It is the funnel shaped collection area of the urine for drainage into the ureter.

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FUNCTIONS OF THE KIDNEY: The primary function is to remove the nitrogenous wastes from the body.Formation of urine.Regulation of water volume.Maintains the salt water balance.Regulates the blood pressure.Regulates pH balance.Production of hormones.Processing of vitamin D.

KIDNEY DISEASES

FROM POINT OF VIEW OF DISEASES OF THE KIDNEY 4 COMPONENTS OF THE RENAL PARENCHYMA ARE IMPORTANT:

Renal vasculatureGlomeruliTubulesInterstitium

Traditionally diseases of the kidney initially evolve from the predominant involvement of one of these morphologic components.Accordingly major groups of renal diseases are as under:

Glomerular diseasesTubular diseasesInterstitial diseasesVascular diseases

Regardless of cause, renal disease usually results in the evolution of one of the two major pathological syndromes: Acute renal failure and Chronic renal failure.

GLOMERULAR DISEASES:

Glomerulonephritis or Bright’s disease is the term used for diseases that primarily involve the renal glomeruli.Glomerular diseases are classified into 2 main groups:

Primary glomerulonephritis in which glomeruli are the predominant site of involvement.Secondary glomerular diseases include systemic and hereditary diseases which secondarily affect the glomeruli.

The clinical presentation of glomerular diseases has in general 4 features: Proteinuria, Hematuria, Hypertension and disturbed excretory functions.

Six major glomerular syndromes are seen in glomerular diseases:

Nephritic and Nephrotic syndromeAcute and Chronic renal failureAsymptomatic proteinuria and hematuria

Specific glomerular diseases

TUBULAR AND TUBULOINTERSTITIAL DISEASES It is difficult to separate the involvement of tubules and interstitium since most forms of tubular diseases also involve the interstitium. This group is discussed under 2 headings:

Primary tubular diseases includes acute tubular necrosisTubulointerstitial diseases includes both acute and chronic pyelonephritis

RENAL VASCULAR DISEASES These diseases are as under:

Hypertensive vascular disease Thrombotic microangiopathyRenal cortical necrosisRenal infarcts

CONCLUSCION Kidneys play a vital role in our body and are very essential for normal body functioning. It is therefore of utmost importance to protect them. What can you do for your kidneys?

Keep fit and active Control of your blood sugar level Monitor your blood pressure Eat healthy and keep your weight in check Maintain a healthy fluid intake Do not smoke Do not take over-the-counter pills on a regular basis Get your kidney function checked

REFERENCES TEXTBOOK OF PATHOLOGY

WWW.PATHGUY.COM WWW.WORLDKIDNEYDAY.ORG