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Biology
Human biology
Physical education
Biology
Human biology
Physical education
Sometimes the kidneys become inflamed. This is called nephritis. It may be because the kidneys have become infected by bacteriabacteria
Single-celled organism. Has a cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm. Its DNA is loosely-coiled in the cytoplasm and there is no distinct nucleus.
- if so, it can be treated by antibioticantibiotic
Medicine that is used to treat bacterial infections and works by killing or stopping the growth and reproduction of bacteria. These can be specific to a particular bacteria or act on groups of related bacteria.
s.
Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits formed in the kidney. They can pass into the urine and larger ones may stick in the ureterureter
The tube through which urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder.
. Kidney stones can be very painful.
The stones can be smashed into smaller pieces using ultrasoundultrasound
High frequency sound which cannot be heard by human beings.
. Then the pieces are passed out of the body in the urine.
This is a genetic disease. Polycystic kidneys become covered in fluid filled cysts and may become very enlarged - they can weigh around 12kg! Eventually, in some people, they stop functioning altogether.
Polycystic kidneys can become huge but they do not balance and clean the blood efficiently (CDC, Dr Edwin P Ewing Jr)
Serious kidney disease may stop the kidneys working properly. When both kidneys stop working, this is kidney failure. Kidney failure can also be caused by injury, high blood pressure, poisoning or dehydrationdehydration
The state of the body when it does not have enough water.
.
If the kidneys don't work, waste products build up in the bloodstream and the person will die without treatment. Treatment must replace the functions of the kidneys to remove waste and balance the water and salt levels of the blood. At the moment there are two types of treatment which can replace these kidney functions - either dialysis or a transplanttransplant
The process of replacing a damaged or diseased organ with a healthy organ from a dead or living donor.
.
Healthy kidneys also produce erythropoietinerythropoietin
A hormone which controls how fast new red blood cells are made.
, a hormone that controls how fast new red blood cellsred blood cells
Carry oxygen in the blood. They are also known as erythrocytes.
are made. People with kidney failure don't make enough erythropoietin. As a result, they become anaemic because they can't produce enough red blood cells (red blood cells only last around 120 days). Patients can take synthetically produced erythropoietin (EPO) to ensure enough red blood cells are made.