Nephrology is the department of medicine focused on understanding kidney function and diagnosing and treating kidney-related diseases. The specialty covers a wide range of conditions, including:
- Abnormalities in urine, such as the presence of excess protein, sugar, blood, casts, or crystals
- Glomerular disorders that impact the kidney’s filtering units, known as glomeruli
- Cancers affecting the kidneys, bladder, and urethra
- Renal failure, which may be acute, sudden, long-term, or chronic
- Infections of the kidneys
- Kidney and bladder stones
- The effects of conditions like diabetes and hypertension on kidney health
- Acid-base imbalances in the body
- The harmful impact of toxins and medications on kidney function
- Nephrotic syndrome and nephritis
- Renal vascular diseases that affect the blood vessels within the kidneys
- Polycystic kidney disease, a genetic condition characterized by large fluid-filled cysts that impair kidney function
- Tubulointerstitial diseases that affect the kidney’s tubules
- Dialysis and its long-term complications, including both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis,CRRT
- Autoimmune diseases such as lupus and autoimmune vasculitis
- Hydronephrosis, a condition involving the swelling of a kidney due to a build-up of urine
