According to David Howes, M.D., writing in "Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine," urinary tract infections are the second most common type of infection in the United States. A healthy urinary tract has several important functions. It helps maintain a...
Transitional Cell Cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter is an exceptionally long description for cancer of the kidney and ureter. Blood is cleaned by the kidneys, which then collect urine to be excreted as waste. The kidneys are comma shaped and...
Hydronephrosis is characterized by a warping or ballooning of the renal pelvis and calyxes in the kidney, caused by increased pressure inside the kidney due to a blockage to the free flow of urine. The renal pelvis is a funnel-like tube that forms...
The normal human body includes two kidneys. These dark-red bean-shaped structures reside behind the abdominal cavity between the lower ribs and the low back. The right kidney lies slightly lower than the left. The kidneys work to filter the...
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located in the back of the abdomen on either side of the spine, protected by the lower ribs. They perform vital functions including removing waste products from the blood and balancing electrolytes. The outer...
Kidney cancer is one of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) top ten most common cancers. It projects there will be 58,240 new cases of kidney cancer and 13,040 deaths from this disease. Although this disease often strikes smokers and people who...
The kidneys are a pair of organs in the rear part of the abdomen, on either side of the spine. They are a part of the urinary tract. The National Cancer Institute reports that 20,000 men and 12,000 women are diagnosed with kidney cancer each year....
The kidneys play an important role in keeping the body healthy by filtering out wastes and reabsorbing essential substances, such as sugar. When the kidneys develop stones large enough to block the passageways in the renal pelvis and ureter, urine...
Kidneys filter salts, toxins and water from blood, and this body waste is then transferred to the bladder where it is excreted as urine. Each day, the kidneys process about 200 qt. of blood, converting it into what will be about 2 qt. of urine,...
Many conditions or injuries can cause lower-left back pain. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS, the spinal column is the centerpiece of the back that supports the weight of the upper body and guards...
You are no doubt already intimately familiar with the main product of the excretory system: urine. In response to your body's attempt to balance water and salts, and to get rid of wastes, urine is produced. If not removed by your body, wastes...
Like other vital organs, kidneys develop early during pregnancy. They can be visualized using ultrasound by the 14th to 16th week. According to the Cornell Department of Pediatric Urology, "the internal architecture of the kidneys" can be...
Kidney cancer can arise from any of the structures in the kidneys. According to the National Cancer Institute, it includes renal cell carcinoma, arising from the cells lining the small tubes of the kidney, renal pelvis carcinoma, arising from the...
Merck Manuals, an online medical library, reports that kidney cancer accounts for more than 2 to 3 percent of all cancers in adults in the United States. Men are 50 percent more likely to have kidney cancer than women. Smoking is a major risk...
Kidney cancer is a very lethal form of cancer. The National Cancer Institute reported that 49,096 Americans were diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2009, and 11,033 people died from the disease that year. There are many forms of kidney cancer. Each...
Nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) can be made up of numerous types of material, including calcium, uric acid, cystine and struvite. Generally, stones develop on the renal papillae or in the collecting system of the kidney. Stones are a common cause...
The kidneys are a pair of organs located in the lower abdomen on each side of the spine that make up part of the urinary tract. The kidneys are responsible for making urine by removing wastes and fluid from the blood. Kidney cancer develops when...
The kidneys are blood-filtering organs of the body, which are located in the lower back on either side of the spine. Clusters of blood vessels, called glomeruli, are the filtering structures within the kidney. The glomeruli retain water, while...
According to the American Cancer Society, in 2009 approximately 57,760 new cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. This includes both renal cell carcinoma and transitional cell carcinomas of the renal pelvis. Treatment...
Carcinomas are malignant cancers that develop from epithelial cells, specialized cells that line the tissues of the body. Epithelial cells provide protection to underlying tissue and secrete factors that aid in organ functioning. Carcinomas...
Renal cancer, or kidney cancer, affects the kidneys, the pair of organs responsible for filtering waste and excess water from the blood. Each year, approximately 52,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease, according to the American...
Kidney diseases are characterized by a decrease in kidney function for three or more months consecutively, notes the National Kidney Foundation. The kidneys serve a vital role in removing waste and excess fluid from the body through urination....
The National Cancer Institute, or NCI, estimates that every year about 443,000 people die because of direct or secondhand smoke. If you think these deaths involve only diseases of the lungs, think again. Although lung cancer is the most common,...
A stent is a cylindrical medical device typically made of metal or plastic. Stents have a variety of vascular and nonvascular applications and are used medically to help open tubular body structures that are narrowed or blocked. Since their...
Your heart pumps oxygen-rich blood continually to the different parts of the body through blood vessels called "arteries." However, formation of plaque on the inner walls of the arteries narrows the blood vessels and decreases the flow...
Transitional cell cancer can be deadly. Learn about the different causes of, symptoms of, and treatments for transitional cell cancer in this video.