Acute Kidney Failure Glossary of Terms

1. Take the Kidney Disease Quiz
2. Kidney Stones Slideshow Pictures
3. High Blood Pressure Slideshow Pictures

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal cavity: The cavity within the abdomen, the space between the abdominal wall and...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Acute kidney failure: See: Acute renal failure.

Acute renal failure: Sudden and often temporary loss of kidney function. Also called acute...

Acute tubular necrosis: A severe form of acute renal failure that develops in people with ...

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Azotemia: A higher-than-normal blood level of urea or other nitrogen-containing compounds....

Back pain: Pain felt in the low or upper back. Causes of pain in the low and upper back in...

Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria, as in a bacterial lung infection.

Bicarbonate: In medicine, bicarbonate usually refers to bicarbonate of soda (sodium bicarb...

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

Bladder cancer: A common form of cancer that begins in the lining of the bladder. The most...

Blood clot: A mass of coagulated blood. A blood clot can block a major blood vessel, causi...

Blood in the urine: Blood that appears in the urine. Also known as hematuria. Gross hematu...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Blood urea nitrogen: A measure of the urea level in blood. Abbreviated BUN. Diseases that ...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically k...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Chronic kidney failure: See: Chronic renal failure.

Chronic renal failure: Now more commonly classified as chronic kidney disease and is liste...

Coma: A state of deep, unarousable unconsciousness. A coma may occur as a result of head t...

Complication: In medicine, an unanticipated problem that arises following, and is a result...

Creatinine: A chemical waste molecule that is generated from muscle metabolism. Creatinine...

Cysts: Cysts are abnormal, closed sac-like structures within a tissue that contain a liqui...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Dialysis machine: A machine used in dialysis that filters a patient's blood to remove exce...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Diuretic: Something that promotes the formation of urine by the kidney. All diuretics caus...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Electrolyte: A substance that dissociates into ions in solution and acquires the capacity ...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

End-stage renal disease: ESRD. Chronic irreversible renal failure. Also known as Chronic...

ESRD: End-stage renal disease.

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Glomerular: Pertaining to the glomerulus, a tiny structure in the kidney that filters the ...

Glomeruli: The plural of glomerulus.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart failure: Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it and, specifically...

Hemodialysis: A medical procedure that uses a special machine (a dialysis machine) to fil...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

Hypertension: High blood pressure, defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceedi...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

ICU: Intensive care unit. The intensive care unit is a designated area of a hospital facil...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emot...

Intensive care: See critical care.

Interstitial: Pertaining to being between things, especially between things that are norma...

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on ...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Kidney cancer: Malignancy of the kidney, the organ that is primarily responsible for the r...

Kidney stone: A stone in the kidney or a stone that originates in the kidney but has passe...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells. Strictly speaking, leukemia should refer only to canc...

Lightheadedness: A feeling you are "going to faint." Lightheadedness is medically distinc...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Lupus: A chronic inflammatory disease that is caused by autoimmunity. Patients with lupus ...

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

Mortality: A fatal outcome or, in one word, death. The word "mortality" is derived from "m...

Mortality rate: A death rate. There are a number of different types of mortality rates as,...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Necrosis: The death of living cells or tissues. Necrosis can be due, for example, to ische...

Nephritis: Inflammation of the kidney, which causes impaired kidney function. Nephritis ca...

Nephrologist: A physician specializing in treating diseases of the kidneys.

Nitrogen: Element number 7, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is biologically impo...

Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the ...

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal o...

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Peritoneal: Having to do with the peritoneum.

Peritoneal dialysis: A dialysis technique that uses the patient's own body tissues inside ...

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Polycystic kidney disease: One of the genetic disorders characterized by the development ...

Potassium: The major positive ion (cation) found inside cells. The chemical notation for p...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the blad...

Prostate enlargement: Most prostatic enlargement is due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (B...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Pus: A thick, whitish-yellow fluid that results from the accumulation of white blood cells...

Rash: Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. A rash can be caused by an underlying medical c...

Red blood cell: The blood cell that carries oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Residual: Something left behind. With residual disease, the disease has not been eradicate...

Sarcoidosis: A disease of unknown origin that causes small lumps (granulomas) due to chron...

Sepsis: The presence of bacteria (bacteremia), other infectious organisms, or toxins creat...

Shock: In medicine, a critical condition that is brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

Strep: Very commonly used shortened form of Streptococcus, a very common and import...

Strep throat: Strep throat is an infection caused by a type of bacteria called streptococc...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Taste: A perception that results from stimulation of a gustatory nerve. Taste belongs to t...

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Urea: A nitrogen-containing substance normally cleared from the blood by the kidney into t...

Urethra: The tube that leads from the bladder and transports and discharges urine outside ...

Urinalysis: A test that is done in order to analyze urine. Because toxins and excess fluid...

Urinary: Having to do with the function or anatomy of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or ur...

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce, store, and discharge urine. These orga...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back t...

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids. Examples of vessels are blood vessels and ...

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

Water retention: A nonspecific term meaning the accumulation of excess fluids in body tiss...