Shua Darwish Almutawa 200023791 4MI Radiographic Pathology Introduction: This project is written as a part from radiographic pathology course. It is about the diseases that may accurse in the urinary system. In this report the following diseases will be covered: Polycystic Kidneys Kidney stones. Renal failure. The report will describe how the disease develops. What is the prognosis? What is the best medical technique to demonstrate it? How it appears in the x-ray? And some general information about each disease. Polycystic kidneys: Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by enlarged kidneys containing many cysts. It is one type of the kidney cyst and it result of an inherited disorder. Polycystic is results of cystic compression of nephrons which causes localized intrarenal obstruction. What are the symptoms? Polycystic disease is often symptom less unless cysts eventually replace so much normal kidney substance that the sufferer develops chronic kidney failure at which point symptoms of the latter disorder such as tiredness and increased frequency of urination begin to appear. How common is the problem? 1 Shua Darwish Almutawa 200023791 4MI Since the polycystic kidneys disease cause no symptoms it is difficult to estimate the number of people with this disease. What are the risks? Polycystic kidney disease may lead to kidney failure. What is the treatment? There is no specific treatment for polycystic disease. How it can be detected? The multiple cysts in polycystic kidney disease can be detected on CT, MRI and ultrasound. Kidney stones What is kidney stone? Kidney stone is a hard mass developed from crystals that separate from the urine and build up on the inner surfaces of the kidney. Normally, urine contains chemicals that prevent the crystals from forming. When these inhibitors do not work well the person will form stones. If the crystals remain tiny enough, they will travel through the urinary tract and pass out of the body in the urine without being noticed. 2 Shua Darwish Almutawa 200023791 4MI What cause kidney stone? The cause of kidney stones is unknown, but there are some theories about it. The most comment theory is called supersaturation crystallization, which says that dehydration causes calcium phosphates, oxalates, urea, uric acids, citrates, complex mucoproteins or other trace elements in urine to combine and crystallize. Some studies shows that dehydration can increase the chance of have kidney stones, drinking plenty of water can prevent kidney stone. Eating a high protein diet, dark green leafy vegetables, tea, and chocolate may increase the chance of forming kidney stones. What are the Symptoms of kidney stones? The first symptom of kidney stones is extreme pain, which often begins suddenly when stone moves in the urinary tract, causing irritation or blockage. A person feels a sharp, cramping pain in the back and side in the area of the kidney or in the lower abdomen. Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur. Later, pain may spread to the groin. If the stone is too large to pass through the ureter, pain will continues as the muscle of the ureter wall trying to move it down to the bladder. As the stone moving it may cause blood in the urine. Patient may feel that he need urinated more often or feel a burning sensation during urination. How to diagnose kidney stones? Kidney stones, which do not cause any symptoms, are usually found on x-rays taken during general health exams. More often, kidney stones are found on an x-ray or sonogram taken on someone who complains of blood in the urine or sudden pain. 3 Shua Darwish Almutawa 200023791 4MI What is the treatment? Surgery is not usually necessary. Most kidney stones can pass through the urinary system with plenty of water (2 to 3 quarts a day) to help move the stone along. Renal failure Acute renal failure Acute renal failure is the rapid breakdown of renal function that occurs when high levels of uremic toxins (waste products of the body’s metabolism) accumulate in the blood. Acute renal failure occurs when the kidneys are unable to excrete the daily load of toxins in the urine. Based on the amount of urine that is excreted over a 24-hour period, patients with ARF are separated into two groups: Oliguric: patients who excrete less than 500 milliliters per day (< 16 oz/day) Nonoliguric: patients who excrete more than 500 milliliters per day (> 16 oz/day) What are the symptoms? 4 Shua Darwish Almutawa 200023791 4MI Acute renal failure does not produce a classic set of symptoms. The most common symptom is decreased urine output, which occurs in 70% of patients. How to diagnose renal failure? Acute renal failure is most easily diagnosed by an increase in blood level of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. The blood level of creatinine typically increases by 0.5 milligrams per tenth of a liter (mg/dL) every day. Chronic renal failure Chronic renal failure (CRF) is the progressive loss of kidney function. The kidneys attempt to compensate for renal damage by hyperfiltration (excessive straining of the blood) within the remaining functional nephrons (filtering units that consist of a glomerulus and corresponding tubule). Over time, hyperfiltration causes further loss of function. Chronic loss of function causes generalized wasting (shrinking in size) and progressive scarring within all parts of the kidneys. In time, overall scarring obscures the site of the initial damage. Yet, it is not until over 70% of the normal combined function of both kidneys is lost that most patients begin to experience symptoms of kidney failure. What cause chronic renal failure The causes of chronic renal failure can be determined by a detailed medical history, a comprehensive physical examination, and laboratory studies. More often determining the cause of chronic renal failure is difficult if not impossible. Even a kidney biopsy may be inconclusive, because all forms of kidney failure eventually progress to diffuse scarring and look the same on kidney biopsy. How to diagnose chronic renal failure? 5 Shua Darwish Almutawa 200023791 4MI Chronic renal failure (CRF) is diagnosed by the observation of a combination of symptoms and elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) levels. The following abnormalities found in the blood may signal CRF: Anemia (low red blood cell count) High level of parathyroid hormone Hypocalcemia (low blood level of calcium) Hyperphosphatemia (high blood level of phosphate) Hyperkalemia (high blood level of potassium) Hyponatremia (low blood level of sodium) Low blood level of bicarbonate Low plasma pH (blood acidity) Whether renal failure is acute or chronic usually can be distinguished by comparing prior test results (e.g., from the past several months or years). It is difficult to make the distinction without previous test results. Ultrasound may show that the kidneys are small in size and echogenic (a sign of renal scarring), signs that supports a diagnosis of CRF. For unclear reasons patients with diabetic nephropathy often have preservation of kidney size despite CRF. Acute renal failure 6