An ultrasound is a noninvasive procedure that can measure the size and shape of the kidneys. Many different conditions can cause an enlarged kidney and ultrasound is a useful procedure for finding these changes. Some of these conditions may...
The kidneys are involved in filtering waste products from the blood, which are excreted in the urine. The kidneys can occasionally develop small fluid-filled sacs called cysts. These cysts are often an incidental finding on a body scan and do not...
A random urine specimen is one that is taken at any time of day except for the first void of the morning. If you are healthy, a random urine specimen will have very little protein. This is a desirable result because high urine protein levels are...
Health care professionals make medical diagnoses based on history, physical exam, laboratory findings and other special studies. Creatine is a chemical found in the blood that helps restore the main energy carrier of your cells -- ATP. After it is...
Hematuria refers to the presence of red blood cells (RBCs) in the urine. This is called frank hematuria if the blood is very obvious, and microhematuria if the red blood cells can only be seen under a microscope. The presence of red blood cells in...
While exercise doesn't eliminate protein in the kidneys, very vigorous exercise might cause proteins in the blood to pass into the urine via the kidneys. While small amounts of protein in the urine are fairly normal, this should not be confused...
Loss of appetite means you don't have the desire to eat, which is not a normal condition, and is called anorexia, according to MedlinePlus. Anorexia is different from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, in which the patient has the desire to eat...
Creatinine is included in most routine lab work because it is the most reliable indicator of kidney health. Kidney patients should know what creatinine is, how it is measured and what their creatinine values mean. Many patients find it helpful to...
Determining kidney size for children is important in certain circumstances because enlarged kidneys can be evidence of obstruction along the ureters or urethral. Left untreated, some obstructions may lead to kidney failure. Kidney size is...
Polycystic kidney disease, which is sometimes referred to as polycystic kidney syndrome, is a genetic disorder that causes sacs of fluid to grow on the kidneys. When these sacs grow too large, the kidneys can become damaged. Polycystic kidney...
Hypertension typically does not present any symptoms and can be affected by many factors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, about one in every three Americans, or 31.3 percent, has high blood pressure. The...
Pyelonephritis is a kidney infection caused by bacteria entering the urinary tract and ascending to the bladder and through the ureters (tubes which carry urine from the kidneys). It is one of the most common types of renal diseases, and is also...
Malignant hypertension causes a sudden, severe rise in blood pressure. The diastolic number, which represents the pressure inside the blood vessels at rest, often rises above 120 to 130 mm Hg, as compared to a normal diastolic reading of 80 mm Hg....
The kidneys act as one of the body's main waste processing plants, filtering about 200 quarts of blood each day, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders. A tumor in the kidney limits its ability to...
Acute renal failure is a medical emergency that occurs when there is a sudden drop in function involving both kidneys. Although most cases occur in patients who are already in the hospital for some other illness, some of the causes for otherwise...
Diseases that affect the kidney can be difficult for a patient or doctor to diagnose without using a variety of diagnostic tests. Kidney function tests are defined by the Encyclopedia of Surgery as a variety of procedures that evaluate whether a...
The excretory system has the task of ridding the body of toxins and waste products. The kidneys process the blood to produce urine, which travels through the ureters to the bladder for storage. Once the bladder becomes full, the bladder muscles...
Kidneys filter blood and remove waste products from the body. Like other organs, the kidneys often develop structural abnormalities, including simple or complex cysts. A simple cyst usually contains a single fluid sac within the kidneys, while a...
Kidney cysts are small, liquid-filled sacs in the kidneys that are rather common, particularly in elderly individuals. The causes of these cysts are not known, but they may be due to calcium deposits in the kidneys or a genetic disorder. Simple...
Children's Hospital Boston explains that normally urine in the body flows from the kidneys down through the ureters and into the bladder. When something unusual happens in the urinary tract that prevents the urine from draining into or out of the...
Candida albicans is a naturally occurring yeast that is found in the digestive tract and mouth of most people, including babies. However, in situations in which the immune system is weakened, Candida growth can go unchecked causing a fungal...
Urinalysis is a laboratory tool used by health care professionals to screen for a variety of metabolic and kidney conditions, including urinary tract infections. It can be used as part of a routine physical evaluation or if the person has symptoms...
A UTI, or urinary tract infection, is an infection of the urinary tract, which is made up of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Urine is filtered by the kidneys to the ureters, which in turn fill the bladder. The bladder is emptied of...
Renal artery stenosis is a narrowing of the artery that brings oxygen-rich blood to the kidneys. This narrowing is typically because of cholesterol build up in the artery wall that is called atherosclerosis. The clinical manifestation of renal...
Renal failure damages the important functions of the kidneys. The kidneys regulate many aspects of the blood composition, including fluid levels, red blood cell counts and electrolyte balance. Phosphate and calcium levels are important...
The National Kidney & Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse reports that kidney stones are on the rise. While less than 4 percent of Americans had this problem in the late 1970s, more than 5 percent developed kidney stones in the 1990s....
Bladder retention, also known as urinary retention, is a condition where you are unable to empty your bladder. According to the National Kidney and Urologic Disease Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC), anyone can experience urinary retention, but...
The kidneys start to grow during the first month of fetal development. These organs produce urine and maintain normal levels of electrolytes and fluids in the body. Kidney problems that occur during fetal development could lead to complications...
Overactive bladder, also known as urinary incontinence, is an embarrassing condition for children when they wet the bed and soil themselves during the day. According to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse,...
Kidney infection or pyelonephritis is a specific type of urinary tract infection (UTI) that generally begins in your urethra or bladder and travels up into your kidneys. If not treated properly, kidney infection can permanently damage your...
Kidney stones or renal lithiasis are small, hard deposits of mineral and acid salts on the inner surfaces of your kidneys. Normally, the substances that make up kidney stones are diluted in the urine. When urine is concentrated, though, minerals...