Ch 6-7 Flashcards
3 things the urinary system consists of
Kidneys
Ureters
Bladder
Functional unit of the kidney; each kidney contains more than a million
Nephrons
3 functions of the nephrons
Filter waste products from the blood
Reabsorb water and nutrients (e.g., glucose and amino acids) from the tubular fluid
Secrete excess substances in the form of urine
In the average person, the nephron filters approximately how much water out of glomerular blood each day and how much of that is excreted in the urine? Therefore, more than what percentage of water is reabsorbed into tubular blood?
Nephron filters approximately 190 L of water out of glomerular blood each day (this enormous amount is many times the total volume of blood in the body); however, only a small proportion of this water (1-2 L) is excreted in the urine. Therefore, more than 99% of water is reabsorbed into tubular blood
Tuft of capillaries with very thin walls and a large surface area where the formation of urine begins
Glomerulus
Reservoir for urine before it leaves the body
Bladder
Triangular area of the posterior bladder, between the openings for the ureters and urethra
Trigone
Where do the ureters enter the bladder and where is the urethral opening?
Through an oblique tunnel that functions as a valve to prevent vesicoureteral reflux during bladder contraction
The openings of the two ureters lie at the posterior corners of the trigone and the urethral opening is situated at the anterior lower corner
Approximately how many mL’s fills the average person’s bladder?
250 mL
Filling of the bladder stimulates autonomic nerve endings in the wall that are perceived as a distended sensation and the desire to void
Micturate
Nervous system injury results in involuntary emptying of the bladder at intervals
Incontinence
A rare congenital anomaly (born with it) in which only one kidney forms, associated with a variety of other malformations
Imaging appearance: IVU = hypertrophic single functioning kidney
Unilateral renal agenesis (solitary kidney)
A rare anomaly in which a small, rudimentary third kidney forms
Functions normally, but is prone to infections that eventually may require its removal
Imaging appearance: IVU = hypoplastic 3rd kidney, may or may not be fused
Supernumerary kidney
Appears as a miniature replica of a normal kidney, with good function
Hypoplastic kidney
An acquired condition that develops when one kidney is forced to perform the function normally carried out by two kidneys
Lone kidney usually a little bigger to make up for the other one
Compensatory hypertrophy
Abnormally positioned kidney that may be found in various locations
Ectopic kidney
Kidney in the true pelvis
Pelvic kidney
Kidney above the diaphragm
Intrathoracic kidney
Both kidneys are malrotated, and fused at the lower poles (joined by a band of normal renal parenchyma [isthmus] or connective tissue)
The most common fusion anomaly
Horseshoe fusion
Rotation of the kidney on the longitudinal or horizontal axis; asymptomatic
Imaging appearance: bizarre appearance of renal parenchyma, calyces, and pelvis
Malrotation
An ectopic kidney lies on the same side as the normal kidney and is very commonly fused
Crossed ectopia
A rare kidney anomaly that produces a single irregular mass that has no resemblance to a renal structure
Complete fusion
Disk, cake, lump, and doughnut kidney
A common anomaly that varies from a simple bifid pelvis to a completely double pelvis, ureter, and ureterovesical orifice.
Complete can be complicated by obstruction or by vesicoureteral reflux with infection
Duplication (duplex kidney)
Cystic dilatation of the distal ureter near its insertion into the bladder
Uretrocele
2 types of uretrocele
Simple (adult)
Ectopic (found almost exclusively in infants and children, commonly associated with ureteral duplication)
Nonsuppurative inflammatory process involving the tufts of capillaries (glomeruli) that filter the blood within the kidney and causes oliguria
An antigen–antibody reaction that most commonly occurs several weeks after an acute upper respiratory or middle ear infection with certain strains of hemolytic streptococci
More frequently, the inflammatory process is caused by a chronic autoimmune disorder
Causes the glomeruli to be extremely permeable, allowing albumin and red blood cells to leak into the urine (resulting in proteinuria or hematuria)
Glomerulonephritis
Smaller-than-normal amount of urine
Oliguria
Suppurative inflammation of the kidney and renal pelvis caused by pyogenic bacteria
It affects the interstitial tissue between the tubules
Patchy distribution
Often affects only one kidney but is asymmetric if both kidneys are involved.
Infection usually originates in the bladder, ascends the ureter to involve the kidneys
More common in women and children
Develops in patients with obstruction of the urinary tract (enlarged prostate gland, kidney stone, congenital defect); instrumentation or catheterization of the ureter is also a contributing factor
Causes stagnation of urine: a breeding ground for infection
Pyelonephritis
Pus-forming
Pyogenic
Painful urination
Dysuria
Pus in the urine
Pyuria
Severe form of acute parenchymal and perirenal infection with gas-forming bacteria that occurs virtually only in diabetic patients and causes an acute necrosis/death of the entire kidney
Imaging appearance: the presence of radiolucent gas shadows within and around the kidney is a pathognomonic
Emphysematous pyelonephritis
6 symptoms of pyelonephritis
High fever
Chills
Sudden back pain that spreads over the abdomen
Dysuria
Pyuria
Bacteria can be cultured from the urine or observed in the urinary sediment
Usually occurs as a secondary infection from lung involvement (hematogenous spread) but can evolve from other sites
Manifests 5 to 10 years after the primary infection
May lead to the development of small granulomas scattered in the cortical portion of the kidneys
Renal tuberculosis
Destructive process involving a varying amount of the medullary papillae and the terminal portion of the renal pyramids
Predisposing factors include diabetes, pyelonephritis, urinary tract infection, urinary tract obstruction, sickle cell disease, and phenacetin abuse
Papillary necrosis
An inflammation of the urinary bladder
Most common nosocomial infection
Most common in women due to a shorter urethra
Symptoms: urinary frequency, urgency, and burning sensation
Cystitis
4 causes of cystitis
Spread of bacteria present in fecal material which reaches the urinary opening and travels up to the bladder (major cause)
Instrumentation or catheterization of the bladder
Retrograde flow from urine bag (bag must be kept below the patient to prevent retrograde flow)
Sexual intercourse
Most commonly form in the kidney
Asymptomatic until they lodge in the ureter and cause partial obstruction, results in extreme pain that radiates from the area of the kidney to the groin
More than 80% of symptomatic renal stones contain enough calcium to be radiopaque and detectable on plain abdomen radiographs
Noncontrast helical CT used most frequently to be demonstrate
Small renal stones (= 3 mm) may pass spontaneously in the urine
Cause of kidney stones varies: often reflect an underlying metabolic abnormality, such as hypercalcemia (resulting from hyperparathyroidism), any cause of increased calcium excretion in the urine, and urinary stasis and infection
Urinary calculi
Calcium can also deposit within the renal parenchyma
Nephrocacinosis
Major causes in adult: urinary calculi, pelvic tumors, urethral strictures, and enlargement of the prostate gland
Normal parts of narrowing that are common sites: ureteropelvic and ureterovesical junctions, bladder neck, and urethral meatus
Noncontrast helical CT scanning detects mass effects, stones, and other causes better than intravenous urography
If the lesion is at or below the level of the bladder (as in prostatic hypertrophy or tumor), bilateral involvement is the rule
Urinary obstruction
Blockage above the level of the bladder causes unilateral dilation of the ureter
Hydroureter
Blockage above the level of the bladder causes unilateral dilation of the ureter and renal pelvicalyceal
Distention of the pelvis and calyces of the kidney
Condition characterized by excess fluid in a kidney due to a backup of urine
Hydronephrosis
Most common unifocal mass of the kidney (simple)
Fluid-filled, usually unilocular (septa sometimes divide the cyst into chambers)
Varies in size
May occur at single or multiple sites in one or both kidneys
Don’t usually show up on plain radiographs without contrast; show up well on ultrasound
Renal cyst
Inherited disorder in which multiple cysts of varying size cause lobulated enlargement of the kidneys and progressive renal impairment
One-third of patients also have liver cysts
Do not interfere with hepatic function
Additive
About 10% have one or more saccular (berry) aneurysms of cerebral arteries; may rupture and produce a fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Many are hypertensive
Most tend to be asymptomatic during the first three decades of life
Early diagnosis is made either by chance or by specific search due to family history
Polycystic kidney disease
Most common renal neoplasm
Occurs predominantly in patients older than 40 years
CT and ultrasound
Renal carcinoma originates in the tubular epithelium of the renal cortex
Classic symptom triad: hematuria, flank pain, and palpable abdominal mass
Renal carcinoma
Hypernephroma