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Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney. The word nephrology is derived from the Greek word nephros, which means "kidney," and the suffix -ology, signifying "study of." The Nephrology Department provides comprehensive health care for patients with different types of renal (kidney) diseases. The nephrologists treat people with kidney diseases of various types, such as glomerulonephritis, cystic kidney disease, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, diabetes, high blood pressure and the more advanced form of kidney disease where permanent kidney failure requires dialysis or transplantation.
Kidneys are bean shaped paired organs and lie behind peritoneum in posterior part of abdomen on each side of vertebrae that primarily remove fluid and waste from the body in the form of urine. In male patients each kidney weighs 125 to 170 gm while in females it weighs 115 to 155 gm size of each kidney is generally around 11 to 12 cm in length, 5 to 7.5 cm in width and 2.5 to 3.0 cm in thickness. The body normally has two kidneys, but if one of them is damaged, stops working, or is donated for kidney transplant, the body can function with the remaining kidney. If both kidneys stop functioning due to disease, patients experience end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or total kidney failure.
The functional unit of Kidney is the nephron. Each Kidney has 0.8 to 1.0 million nephros. Each nephron consists of a long tubule made of single layer epithelial cells.
Main functions of Kidney:
- Maintainance of body composition.
- Excretion of toxic metabolic end products and foreign substances.
- Maintainance of volume of fluid in the body.
- Production and secretion of harmones.
Symptoms of Kidney Disease :
- High blood pressure
- Swelling of the face and ankles
- Puffiness around the eyes
- More frequent urination (especially at night)
- Foamy urine
- Rusty or brown colored urine
- Back pain just below the rib cage
- Tiredness
Common Kidney Disorders
- Glomerulonephritis
Acute glomerulonephritis is an inflammatory disease involving the renal glomeruli of both kidneys. Chronic glomerulonephritis is a slowly progressive disease characterized by inflammation of the glomeruli, which results in sclerosis, scarring and, eventually, renal failure. Strep infection is the most common cause of glomerulonephritis.
- Pyelonephritis
Pyelonephritis is an inflammation of one or both kidneys with variable manifestations. It may be acute, relapsing or chronic. The complications of this disorder are hypertension, chronic infection, renal insufficiency and renal failure. Pyelonephritis can be caused by any of the organisms that cause lower urinary tract infection.
Physical signs like morning puffiness of eyelids, face, pedal, sacral oedema, hypertension. Renal Bruit, Palpable Kidneys, deformity indicate renal illness.
Treatment of Kidney disorders
- NUTRITION - Patients with abnormal kidney function often require very specialized diets.
- MEDICATIONS - Aggressive control of blood pressure is critical to slow or prevent progressive kidney disease. Further, lowering of protein losses in the urine, with certain medications, can slow the progression of kidney disease. Patients with more advanced kidney disease often need other medications to control or prevent acid build-up, bone disease and anemia.
- DIALYSIS - Renal Dialysis is a life-saving process that artificially replaces some of the functions of the kidney. There are two types of dialysis: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Hemodialysis involves removing blood from the body and filtering it in a machine. Peritoneal Dialysis is internal or in-body dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis entails use of a blood-cleansing solution called "dialysate" that is infused via a catheter placed into the peritoneal cavity, the region of the abdomen that is lined by the peritoneum. The dialysate works to extract toxins and excess fluid from the blood. After a period of time, the solution is then drained from the body and fresh fluid replaced.
- TRANSPLANTATION - Many patients are eligible to receive a kidney transplant and regain successful kidney function. The sources of kidney donation are a close relative whose blood and tissue-type match the patient and cadavers and living donors who are not blood relatives, such as a spouse or friend. New anti-rejection drugs have improved the success rates of transplants from organ donations received from other than blood relatives.
So Nephrology is one of the major fields in telemedicine. It has started working with latest telemedicine technology services to improve the patient’s health care, by providing a full spectrum of diagnostic and treatment options, offering medical treatment that includes dialysis and kidney transplants and uses a multidisciplinary approach to treating chronically ill children while reducing the efforts of medical staff.
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