Renal Pathophysiology

• Introduction
• What are the functions of the kidney?
• How does the kidney conserve salt and water?

• What causes a low urinary output (oliguria)?

• What is meant by volume depletion?

• How does the body control extracellular volume?

• What is meant by the term “vasomotor nephropathy”?

• What is pre-renal syndrome?

• What is acute tubular necrosis?

• How do I differentiate pre-renal syndrome and acute tubular necrosis?

• What do we learn from the serum urea and creatinine?

• What are the pathological mechanisms responsible for renal injuries?

• How do I prevent perioperative renal failure?

• Key Points

This section was prepared by Patrick Neligan MD (University of Pennsylvania)