Kidney terms

Medical terms related to the kidneys involve the prefixes renal- and nephro-.

Surgical removal of the kidney is a nephrectomy, while a radical nephrectomy is removal of the kidney, its surrounding tissue, lymph nodes, and potentially the adrenal gland. A radical nephrectomy is performed for the removal of the cancers.

Generally, humans can live normally with just one kidney, as we have more functioning renal tissue than we need to survive, possibly due to the nature of the prehistoric human diet. Only when the amount of functioning kidney tissue is greatly diminished will chronic renal failure develop. If the glomerular filtration rate (a measure of renal function) has fallen very low (end-stage renal failure), or if the renal dysfunction leads to severe symptoms, then renal replacement therapy is indicated, either dialysis or renal transplantation.

Acquired

Diabetic nephropathy
Glomerulonephritis
Hydronephrosis is the enlargement of one or both of the kidneys caused by obstruction of the flow of urine.
Interstitial nephritis

Kidney stones are a relatively common and particularly painful disorder.
Kidney tumors
- Wilms tumor
- Renal cell carcinoma
Lupus nephritis
Minimal change disease
In nephrotic syndrome, the glomerulus has been damaged so that a large amount of protein in the blood enters the urine. Other frequent features of the nephrotic syndrome include swelling, low serum albumin, and high cholesterol.
Pyelonephritis is infection of the kidneys and is frequently caused by complication of a urinary tract infection.
Renal failure
- Acute renal failure
- Chronic renal failure

Congenital (or the next generation after ACQUIRED ... a birth defect from a teratoge chemical?)

TERMS

renal capsule: The membranous covering of the kidney.

cortex: The outer layer over the internal medulla. It contains blood vessels, glomeruli (which are the kidneys' "filters") and urine tubes and is supported by a fibrous matrix.

hilus: The opening in the middle of the concave medial border for nerves and blood vessels to pass into the renal sinus.

renal column: The structures which support the cortex. They consist of lines of blood vessels and urinary tubes and a fibrous material.

renal sinus: The cavity which houses the renal pyramids.

calyces: The recesses in the internal medulla which hold the pyramids. They are used to subdivide the sections of the kidney. (singular - calyx)

papillae: The small conical projections along the wall of the renal sinus. They have openings through which urine passes into the calyces. (singular - papilla)

renal pyramids: The conical segments within the internal medulla. They contain the secreting apparatus and tubules and are also called malpighian pyramids.

renal artery: Two renal arteries come from the aorta, each connecting to a kidney. The artery divides into five branches, each of which leads to a ball of capillaries. The arteries supply (unfiltered) blood to the kidneys. The left kidney receives about 60% of the renal bloodflow.

renal vein: The filtered blood returns to circulation through the renal veins which join into the inferior vena cava.

renal pelvis: Basically just a funnel, the renal pelvis accepts the urine and channels it out of the hilus into the ureter.

ureter: A narrow tube 40 cm long and 4 mm in diameter. Passing from the renal pelvis out of the hilus and down to the bladder. The ureter carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder by means of peristalsis.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renal