The Renal Biopsy
Key points • Kidney biopsy plays an important role in the management of kidney disease. • Percutaneous kidney biopsy is generally safe if care is taken to select and prepare…
read more
The Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Kidneys in Aging
General Overview of the Biology of Aging All, or nearly all, biological organisms exhibit the phenomenon of aging. The few exceptions are scientific curiosities. Many speculations and hypotheses concerning the…
read more
Early Life Origins of Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease
Key Points • Being born too early (preterm) or too small (small for gestational age) are risk factors for longer-term hypertension and kidney disease. • Preterm birth and being small…
read more
Disorders of Potassium Balance
Potassium Disorders The diagnosis and management of potassium disorders are central skills in clinical nephrology, relevant to not only consultative nephrology but also dialysis and renal transplantation. An understanding of…
read more
Disorders of Water Balance
KEY POINTS • Because body water is the primary determinant of the osmolality of the extracellular fluid, disorders of water metabolism can be broadly divided into hyperosmolar disorders, in which…
read more
Epidemiology of Kidney Disease
Key Points • The definition of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has remained stable since 2002, with staging now including cause, glomerular filtration rate, and albuminuria categories. • The prevalence of…
read more
Risk Prediction in Chronic Kidney Disease
Key Points • Because of a large variance in chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, there is a need to develop methods for risk stratification within CKD to identify the subgroup…
read more
Disorders of Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphate Balance
Disorders of Calcium Homeostasis The extracellular fluid (ECF) calcium concentration in the human body is tightly regulated by a complex process. Three organs—skeleton, kidney, and intestine—are involved in this process…
read more
Disorders of Acid-Base Balance
Acid-base homeostasis is critical for normal health. However, a variety of acute and chronic conditions commonly alter acid-base homeostasis and blood pH. This chapter reviews normal acid-base homeostasis and various…
read more
Vasoactive Molecules and the Kidney
Key Points • In addition to the classical endocrine renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which primarily functions through systemically circulating angiotensin II, a distinct local RAS operates within the kidney, acting in…
read more
