Urinary/Renal Pathology Flashcards
What are the main malignancies that affect the male & female urinary systems?
- Renal cell carcinoma
- transitional cell carcinoma
- nephroblastoma (super rare, childhood)
- prostate cancer (adenoma when benign, adencocarcinoma when malignant)
Common Causes & possible consequences of Glomerulonephritis
- tends to be blood borne
- often autoimmune
- chronic inflammation effecting function units of both kidneys.
because its in blood it is affecting both kidneys as function reduces and may lead to failure
Why is the renal papilla susceptible to toxic injury & ascending infections
Last bit of kidney where urine drains. It tends to be affected by drug overdoses or toxins that are getting rid of in the urine as this is where the urine is most concentrated. Usually only affect one kidney. The first of vulnerable tissue that an infection is going to hit.
Ascending Infections:
urinary tract infections going from the lower urinary tract up to the kidneys. More likely to only affect one kidney. More likely in females as they are more likley to get UTIs due to shorter urethra, proximity to anus, lack of prostate gland, physical trauma, mucous produced by reporductive system.
Descending Infections:
come down via blood. M&F affected equally. very serious as its travelling in teh blood so can affect borth kidney -> failure
Causes of Urinary/Kidney Stones?
- stasis of urine which may be caused by obstruction of urine flow
- infections which can contribute to obstruction and act as a nidus
- pre-existing or previous indicdences of stones
- dehydration due to excessive water loss (diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating, lack of food/fluid intake)
- calcium metabolism disorder (rare) and gout
One stone predisposes to more stones. The predisposing of stones is having super concentrated urine.
Consequences of Urinary/Kidney Stones
- pain
- bleeding
- obstruction of urin flow -> infection, more stones, renal atrophy (hydronephrosis)
- perdisposes to infection
- man encourage more stones
- may cause chronic irritation -> cancer
- dehydration
How do the kidneys contribute to congestive heart failure?
Systemic hypertension is a risk factor for left ventricular heart failure. Kidneys are involved in the forward effects of heart failure. Kidneys compensate for the decrease in cardiac output by activating RAAS.
What does the term ‘blast’ denote?
It was never a normal cell
Why are cancers of the kidney, ureter and bladder generally diagnosed late, what signs and symptoms do patients present with?
early stages are asymptomatic.
Symptoms: blood in urine, mild pain, abdominal mass
What is Pyelonephritis?
a bacterial infection of the pelvis, tubules and medulla of the kidney. injection reaches kidney via blood or ascending infection from lower urinary tract
Why are ascending infections more common in females
- shorter urethra
- urethra opening closer to anus
- absence of atibacterial prostatic fluid
- hormonal changes affecting mucosa
- urtheral trauma
What is Glomerulonephritis & why does it affect both kidneys?
a group of diseases that injure the part of the kidney that filters blood (called glomeruli). it is usually caued by blood-born stimuli so affects all glomeruli in kidneys
How does glomerulonephritis lead to chronic renal failure?
The arterial vessels in the glomerulus also provide blood supple to other areas of the kidney. All areas of the kidney can become involved leading to reduction in function. Both kidneys are commonly involved and as the function of both kidneys reduces, the clinical state of renal failure follows
What are the risk factors for atherosclerosis that are prioritized in the cardiovascular risk charts?
diabetes, male, smoking, increasing age, systemic hypertension, hyperlipidaemia
