Renal Artery Stenosis Glossary of Terms
The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Renal Artery Stenosis article.
Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis. The abdomen is separated anatomically from the chest by the diaphragm, the powerful muscle spanning the body cavity below the lungs. Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer). Aldosterone: A hormone made by the outer portion (cortex) of the adrenal gland that regulates the balance of salt and water in the body. Pronounced AL·do·ste·rone. Aneurysm: A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, vein, or the heart. At the area of an aneurysm, there is typically a bulge and the wall is weakened and may rupture. The word "aneurysm" comes from the Greek "aneurysma" meaning "a widening." Angiography: A procedure performed to view blood vessels after injecting them with a radioopaque dye that outlines them on x-ray. This technique can be usefully used to look at arteries in many areas of the body, including the brain, neck (carotids), heart, aorta, chest, pulmonary circuit, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and limbs. Angioplasty: Procedure with a balloon-tipped catheter to enlarge a narrowing in a coronary artery. Also called Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA). Angiotensin: A family of peptides (smaller than proteins) that act as vasoconstrictors to narrow blood vessels. Aorta: The largest artery in the body, the aorta arises from the left ventricle of the heart, goes up (ascends) a little ways, bends over (arches), then goes down (descends) through the chest and through the abdomen to where ends by dividing into two arteries called the common iliac arteries that go to the legs. Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the farthest reaches of the body. Since blood in arteries is usually full of oxygen, the hemoglobin in the red blood cells is oxygenated. The resultant form of hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin) is what makes arterial blood look bright red. Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-sized and large arteries as a result of fat deposits on their inner lining. Atherosclerotic: Pertaining to atherosclerosis, the process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of arteries from fat deposits on their inner lining. Atherosclerotic heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Azotemia: A higher than normal blood level of urea or other nitrogen containing compounds in the blood. The hallmark test is the serum BUN (blood urea nitrogen) level. Usually caused by the inability of the kidney to excrete these compounds. Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic millimeter of blood. Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is produced primarily by the contraction of the heart muscle. It's measurement is recorded by two numbers. The first (systolic pressure) is measured after the heart contracts and is highest. The second (diastolic pressure) is measured before the heart contracts and lowest. A blood pressure cuff is used to measure the pressure. Elevation of blood pressure is called "hypertension". Bruit: A sound, especially an abnormal one. A bruit may be heard over an artery or vascular channel, reflecting turbulence of flow. Listening for a bruit in the neck is a simple, safe, and inexpensive way to screen for stenosis (narrowing) of the carotid artery. Bypass: An operation in which a surgeon creates a new tubular pathway for the movement of fluids and/or other substances in the body. Catheter: A thin, flexible tube. For example, a catheter placed in a vein provides a pathway for giving drugs, nutrients, fluids, or blood products. Samples of blood can also be withdrawn through the catheter. Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body, cholesterol has gotten something of a bad name. However, cholesterol is a critically important molecule. Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time. Complete blood count: A set values of the cellular (formed elements) of blood. These measurements are generally determined by specially designed machines that analyze the different components of blood in less than a minute. Compression: 1. The act of pressing together. As in a compression fracture, nerve compression, or spinal cord compression. Computerized tomography: Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them in pictures. Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name "diabetes" because they are both conditions characterized by excessive urination (polyuria). Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies. 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV. Dysplasia: Abnormal in form. From the Greek dys- (bad, disordered, abnormal) and plassein (to form). For example, retinal dysplasia is abnormal formation of the retina during embryonic development. End-stage renal disease: ESRD. Chronic irreversible renal failure. ESRD: End-stage renal disease. Essential: 1. Something that cannot be done without. Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness. Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic and persist. Femoral: Having to do with the femur or, less often, the thigh. As in the femoral head (the head of the femur), the femoral artery, and femoral vein. 
Femoral artery: A large artery that starts in the lower abdomen and goes down into the thigh The femoral artery starts as a continuation of the external iliac artery which comes from the abdominal aorta. Groin: In anatomy, the area where the upper thigh meets the trunk. More precisely, the fold or depression marking the juncture of the lower abdomen and the inner part of the thigh. Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest. Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of blood supply is usually caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery, one of the arteries that supplies blood to the heart muscle. Death of the heart muscle, in turn, causes chest pain and electrical instability of the heart muscle tissue. Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is used narrowly and incorrectly as a synonym for coronary artery disease. Heart disease is synonymous with cardiac disease but not with cardiovascular disease which is any disease of the heart or blood vessels. Among the many types of heart disease, see, for example: Angina; Arrhythmia; Congenital heart disease; Coronary artery disease (CAD); Dilated cardiomyopathy; Heart attack (myocardial infarction); Heart failure; Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Mitral regurgitation; Mitral valve prolapse; and Pulmonary stenosis. High blood pressure: Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure is, by definition, a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg -- a systolic pressure above 140 with a diastolic pressure above 90. Hypertension: High blood pressure, defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg -- a systolic pressure above 140 with a diastolic pressure above 90. Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain. Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response. Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen which clear "poisons" from the blood, regulate acid concentration and maintain water balance in the body by excreting urine. The kidneys are part of the urinary tract. The urine then passes through connecting tubes called "ureters" into the bladder. The bladder stores the urine until it is released during urination. See the entire definition of Kidney Lipid: Another word for "fat." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) A lipid is more formally defined as a substance such as a fat, oil or wax that dissolves in alcohol but not in water. Lipids contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but have far less oxygen proportionally than carbohydrates. Macula: A macula is a small spot. A macula on the skin is a small flat spot while the macula in the eye is a small spot where vision is keenest in the retina. See the entire definition of Macula Malaise: A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be pinned down but is often sensed as "just not right." Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called "skeletal muscle." Heart muscle is called "cardiac muscle." Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel is called "smooth muscle." Nephropathy: Any kidney disease. For example, there is diabetic nephropathy, gouty nephropathy, HIV-associated nephropathy, ischemic nephropathy, sickle cell nephropathy,and so on. From the Greek "nephros" (kidney) + "pathos" (disease). Occlude: 1 To close, obstruct, or prevent the passage. To occlude an artery is to occlude the flow of blood. 2 To bring together. To occlude the teeth is to align the upper and lower teeth, as for chewing.
Occlusion: The act of occluding. See: Occlude. Operation: Although there are many meanings to the word "operation", in medicine it refers to a surgical procedure. Plaque: 1. An semi-hardened accumulation of substances from fluids that bathe an area. Examples include dental plaque and cholesterol plaque. Radiologist: A physician specialized in radiology, the branch of medicine that uses ionizing and nonionizing radiation for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Renal: Having to do with the kidney. From the Latin renes (the kidneys), which gave the French les reins which mean both the kidneys and the lower back. Renal artery stenosis: Narrowing of the major artery that supplies blood to the kidney. Renal artery stenosis can lead to seriously elevated blood pressure. Restenosis: Renarrowing, as in restenosis of a coronary artery after angioplasty. From the Greek "stenos" meaning narrow. Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in fluid outside of cells. The chemical notation for sodium is Na+. When combined with chloride, the resulting substance is table salt. Stenosis: A narrowing, as in:
See the entire definition of Stenosis Stent: A tube designed to be inserted into a vessel or passageway to keep it open. Stroke: The sudden death of some brain cells due to a lack of oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain. A stroke is also called a cerebrovascular accident or, for short, a CVA. Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The definition of a "surgeon" has begun to blur in recent years as surgeons have begun to minimize the cutting, employ new technologies that are "minimally invasive," use scopes, etc. Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office. Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or section through a three-dimensional object. Tomography achieves this remarkable result by simply moving an x-ray source in one direction as the x-ray film is moved in the opposite direction during the exposure to sharpen structures in the focal plane, while structures in other planes appear blurred. The tomogram is the picture; the tomograph is the apparatus; and tomography is the process. Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be benign or malignant (cancerous). There are dozens of different types of tumors. Their names usually reflect the kind of tissue they arise in, and may also tell you something about their shape or how they grow. For example, a medulloblastoma is a tumor that arises from embryonic cells (a blastoma) in the inner part of the brain (the medulla). Diagnosis depends on the type and location of the tumor. Tumor marker tests and imaging may be used; some tumors can be seen (for example, tumors on the exterior of the skin) or felt (palpated with the hands). Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultrasound waves can be bounced off of tissues using special devices. The echoes are then converted into a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging, referred to as ultrasonography, allows physicians and patients to get an inside view of soft tissues and body cavities, without using invasive techniques. Ultrasound is often used to examine a fetus during pregnancy. There is no convincing evidence for any danger from ultrasound during pregnancy. Urinalysis: A test that determines the content of the urine. Because urine removes toxins and excess liquids from the body, it can contain important clues. Urinalysis can be used to detect some types of disease, particularly in the case of metabolic disorders and kidney disease. It can also be used to uncover evidence of drug abuse. Urine: Liquid waste. The urine is a clear, transparent fluid. It normally has an amber color. The average amount of urine excreted in 24 hours is from 40 to 60 ounces (about 1,200 cubic centimeters). Chemically, the urine is mainly an aqueous (watery) solution of salt (sodium chloride) and substances called urea and uric acid. Normally, it contains about 960 parts of water to 40 parts of solid matter. Abnormally, it may contain sugar (in diabetes), albumen (a protein) (as in some forms of kidney disease), bile pigments (as in jaundice), or abnormal quantities of one or another of its normal components. Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood low in oxygen content from the body back to the heart. The deoxygenated form of hemoglobin (deoxyhemoglobin) in venous blood makes it appear dark. Veins are part of the afferent wing of the circulatory system which returns blood to the heart. Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids: blood vessels or lymph vessels.
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Renal Artery Stenosis
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Normal Kidneys and Their Function
The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs that lie on either side of the spine in the lower middle of the back. Each kidney weighs about ¼ pound and contains approximately one million filtering units called nephrons. Each nephron is made of a glomerulus and a tubule. The glomerulus is a miniature filtering or sieving device while the tubule is a tiny tube like structure attached to the glomerulus.
The kidneys are connected to the urinary bladder by tubes called ureters. Urine is stored in the urinary bladder until the bladder is emptied by urinating. The bladder is connected to the outside of the body by another tube like structure called the urethra.
The main function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess water from the blood. The kidneys process about 200 liters of blood e...
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