Urinary System and Renal Disorders Lecture Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary review of urinary system anatomy, physiology, diagnostic tests, and renal pathologies based on the lecture.

Kidneys

Bean-shaped organs located on either side of the vertebral column that filter blood, water, and metabolic waste, producing approximately $45\,\text{gallons}$ of filtrate per day.

Ureters

The two tubes that function as a transport system to pull urine out of the kidneys and carry it down into the bladder.

Urinary Bladder

A hollow muscular organ located on the floor of the pelvic cavity that stores urine (typically holding approximately $200\,\text{mL}$ or $7\,\text{ounces}$) prior to excretion.

Urethra

A hollow tube extending from the inferior aspect of the bladder that transports urine to the outside of the body.

Dialysis

A mechanical medical procedure that filters blood and waste on the outside of the body and returns it when the patient's kidneys are failing or non-functioning.

Renin

A substance secreted by the kidneys that helps regulate and maintain blood volume and blood pressure.

Nephrologist

A medical specialist who studies and treats disorders of the kidneys.

Urologist

A physician who specializes in the study and treatment of the urinary tract system.

Micturition

The physiological process of releasing and emptying urine from the bladder, requiring the relaxation of two sphincters.

Sphincter

A circular muscle that constricts and relaxes to close and open a bodily passage.

Void

A clinical term meaning to urinate or empty the contents of the bladder into a receptacle.

Hat

A disposable, top-hat-shaped plastic container placed into a toilet to collect, contain, and measure urine output or stool specimens.

Renal Cell Carcinoma

A type of kidney cancer commonly treated through surgical removal of the affected kidney (nephrectomy).

Wilms Tumor

A kidney neuroblastoma that typically occurs in children between the ages of $3$ and $8$, treated with surgery and chemotherapy.

Hematuria

The presence of blood in the urine.

Glomerulonephritis

Inflammation of the kidney's filtering units (glomeruli), often presenting acutely following a strep throat infection.

Pyelonephritis

An infection of the renal pelvis, commonly developing as part of an ascending urinary tract infection characterized by burning during urination.

Polycystic Kidney Disease

An inherited, genetic disorder characterized by the development of numerous cysts throughout the kidneys, eventually causing progressive kidney failure.

Acute Renal Failure

A sudden, short-term reduction or cessation of kidney filtration caused by factors such as medications, toxins, burns, trauma, or severe infections.

Chronic Renal Failure

The slow, progressive, and gradual loss of kidney function over an extended period of time.

End Stage Renal Disease

Advanced chronic kidney failure in which the kidneys function at less than $10\%$ of their normal operational capacity.

Anuria

The complete absence or lack of urine excretion and output.

Azotemia

The abnormal buildup and accumulation of nitrogenous waste products in the blood.

Oliguria

A abnormally low or reduced volume of urine output.

Proteinuria

The presence of abnormal quantities of protein in the urine.

Uremia

The complex of toxic clinical signs and symptoms resulting from severe renal failure and waste retention.

Nephrolithiasis

The formation of sharp crystalline calcium stones (calculi) in the kidney that can travel into and lodge within the ureter, causing severe pain.

Urinary Incontinence

The inability to control the bladder, resulting in involuntary leakage of urine (classified into stress, urge, overflow, and functional types).

Urinary Retention

The incomplete emptying of the bladder where the muscular organ retains significant residual urine after voiding.

KUB

A diagnostic X-ray of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder utilized to assess renal structures and detect masses or obstructions.

Cystoscopy

An endoscopic procedure using a slender camera inserted through the urethra to directly examine the interior lining of the bladder.

Shock Wave Lithotripsy

A non-invasive therapeutic procedure that directs external acoustic shock waves at kidney stones to pulverize them into small, passable fragments.

Radical Nephrectomy

The complete surgical removal of an entire kidney.