HISTO: Renal pathology Flashcards
What are the major functions of the kidney?
- Excretion of metabolic waste products and foreign chemicals (including drugs)
- Regulation of fluid, electrolyte and acid/base balance
- Regulation of blood pressure - renin
- Regulation of haematocrit - erythropoietin
- Regulation of calcium and bone metabolism – via 1,25 Dihydroxycholecalciferol
Where is the kidney located? What is its size? What % of cardiac output does it receive?
Location: retroperitoneal; T12 to L3 on left; right is lower
Size: Mean length 11cm, normal weight 125-170g (male), 115-155g (female)
Cardiac output: Receive around 20% of cardiac output
What is the basic unit of the kidney and what does it consist of?
- Glomerulus
- Afferent and efferent arterioles
- Tubules
What is the pressure at the glomerulus? How much blood is filtered per min? Which cells are vital in its function?
- High hydrostatic pressure (60mmHg)
- 125 mL/min
Podocytes create charge-dependent (anionic) and size-dependent barrier
What is the function of the proximal convoluted tubule?
- Actively resorbs sodium
- Potassium is also reabsorbed
- Hydrogen exchange to allow carbonate resorption
- Co-transport of amino acids, phosphate, glucose
What is the function of the Loop of Henle?
- Descending / thin ascending limb permeable to water but not ions or urea;
- Ascending limb actively resorbs sodium and chloride
- Countercurrent multiplier; aligned with vasa recta
What is the function of the distal convoluted tubule?
- Impermeable to water
- Regulates pH via active transport (proton / bicarbonate)
- Regulates sodium, potassium via active transport (aldosterone)
- Regulates calcium (parathyroid hormone, 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol
What is the function of the collecting duct?
- Resorbs water (principal cells,ADH)
- Regulates pH (intercalated cells, proton excretion)
Which part of the nephron has these functions?
- actively resorbs sodium
- is a countercurrent multiplier, aligned with vasa recta
- regulates pH
- regulates calcium
- resorbs water
- Sodium active resorption - PCT, LoH (ascending),
- Regulates pH - DCT, CD
- Countercurrent multiplier - LoH
- Calcium regulation - DCT
- Resorbs water- CD (but LoH ascending is permeable to water, whereas DCT is impermeable)
What is RC?
renal corpuscle
What is M? A?
M - Mesangium
A - afferent arteriole
What is labelled FS?
Fenestration between podocytes of the glomerulus
Below:
- Endothelial cells (inside)
- GBM
- Podocytes outside with fenestrations
What are the signs and symptoms of renal disease/
- Haematuria
- Proteinuria
- Uraemia
- Hypertension
- Oliguria / Anuria
- Polyuria
- Oedema
- Colic
List 3 renal ‘syndromes’.
- Acute renal failure/AKI
- nephrotic syndrome
- microscopic haematuria
ie. constellations of symptoms
List 5 genitourinary/kidney malformations.
- Agenesis
- Renal Fusion (e.g. horse-shoe)
- Ectopic Kidney
- Renal Dysplasia
- Pelvi-ureteric Junction Obstruction
- Ureteral Duplication
- Vesicoureteral Reflux
- Posterior urethral Valves
What is the inheritance pattern of polycystic kidney disease? How common is it? What is a common consequence?
AD
1 in 500
Cause 10% of all end-stage renal failure
What genetic mutations are implicated in polycystic kidney disease?
PKD1, PKD2.. etc
What extra-renal manifestations may occur in PKD?
Berry aneurysm
What is an iatrogenic cause of kidney cysts? Are they dangerous?
Cysts commonly develop in patients with end stage renal disease who are on dialysis. These can be multiple, bilateral, cortical and medullary
What type of renal malignancy can occur due to cystic disease of the kidney?
Papillary renal cell carcinoma
7% risk at 10 years
Define acute renal failure/AKI.
Rapid deterioration in renal function (hours, days)
Common, often in the setting of pre-existing disease
What are some causes of acute renal failure? What is the commonest cause?
- Pre-Renal: Failure of perfusion
- Renal: Acute tubular injury, acute glomerulonephritis, thrombotic microangiopathy
- Post-Renal: Obstruction
Acute tubular injury/ATN is most common.
What can cause acute tubular injury?
- Ischaemia
- Toxins (contrast, Hb, myoglobin, ethylene glycol)
- Drugs esp. PG inhibitors like NSAIDs
Describe the pathophysiology of ATN.
- Loss of brush border and degradation of cells
- Apoptosis of epithelial cells and sloughing into the lumen which may cause luminal obstruction
- Cells which survive spread out
- In recovery, there should be proliferation, differentiation and re-polarisation of these cells again.
What is Acute Tubulo-Interstitial Nephritis? What are the causes of ATIN?
Immune injury to tubules and interstitium
Caused by immune injury but can also be due to infection and drugs such as:
- NSAIDs
- Antibiotics
- Diuretics
- Allopurinol
- Proton Pump Inhibitors
Describe the infiltrate seen in ATIN.
- Heavy interstitial inflammatory infiltrate with tubular injury
- Can see eosinophils, granulomas
What is acute glomerulonephritis? How does it usually present?
AGN = Acute inflammation of glomeruli
Presents with oliguria with urine casts containing erythrocytes and leucocytes
When sufficient to cause AKI, there are almost always _crescents_ (proliferation of cells within Bowman’s space) as shown.
List three types of acute ‘crescentic’ glomerulonephritis.
- Immune Complex Complex Associated Crescentic Glomerulonephritis
- Anti Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease
- Pauci-immune Crescentic Glomerulonephritis (NB: ANCA positive i.e. anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies)