Week 9 - Terms

Question 1

Define acute tubular necrosis (ATN)

Answer 1

necrosis and death of tubular cell, generally due to a lack of oxygen or exposure to toxins. Potentially reversible if stimulus removed in time.

Question 2

Define azotemia

Answer 2

an excess of urea or other nitrogenous waste products in the blood, syn = uremia.

Question 3

Define cyst

Answer 3

an abnormal sac containing gas, fluid, or a semisolid material.

Question 4

Define cystectomy

Answer 4

excision of a cyst; excision or resection of the bladder.

Question 5

Define cystoscopy

Answer 5

the inspection of the interior of the bladder by means of a cystoscope (a lighted tubular instrument).

Question 6

Define glomerulonephritis

Answer 6

inflammation of the glomeruli; usually caused by an immune-mediated response to glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) or deposition of circulating immune complexes in the kidney.

Question 7

Define glomerulopathy

Answer 7

a renal disease characterized by pathological changes in the glomeruli. Primary glomerulopathies are diseases which affect the glomerulus primarily or exclusively. Secondary glomerulopathies are diseases which affect multiple organs, including the kidney.

Question 8

Define glomerulus

Answer 8

a small tuft or cluster; often used alone to designate one of the renal glomeruli (pl).

Question 9

Define hematuria

Answer 9

the presence of blood or red blood cells in the urine.

Question 10

Define hydronephrosis

Answer 10

a term used to describe dilation of the renal pelvis usually because of chronic obstruction, with associated blunting of the renal papillae.

Question 11

Define hydroureter

Answer 11

dilation of the ureter

Question 12

Define kidney stones

Answer 12

hard precipitates of insoluble minerals such as calcium, magnesium and uric acid which can crystallize into stones at any point along the urinary tract, but most often in the kidney itself.

Question 13

Define nephron

Answer 13

the structural and functional unit of the kidney (consisting of the renal glomerulus, proximal and distal convoluted tubules and nephronic loop or loop of Henle).

Question 14

Define polycystic kidney disease

Answer 14

a hereditary disease which results in the formation of numerous cysts in both kidneys.

Question 15

Define renal cell carcinoma

Answer 15

a malignant neoplasm of the renal tubular or ductal epithelial cells; the most common cancer of the kidney (90%).

Question 16

Define urea

Answer 16

the chief end product of nitrogen metabolism formed in the liver and excreted in urine (about 32 g / day).