The kidneys play a major role in the entire cleansing system of the human body. They purify the blood after all of it passes through the liver. After passing through the kidneys, the blood is completely cleansed.
About one and a half thousand liters of blood passes through the kidneys per day. At least 170 liters of primary urine can be filtered out of this amount, but this amount is significantly reduced due to the re-absorption of water. As a result, a person secretes about two liters of urine per day.
The kidneys are a very complex mechanism, and the main functions in it are performed by nephrons. There are about a million units in their kidneys. Thanks to them, primary urine is obtained. Then the process of reabsorption takes place, and a concentrated urine solution remains. Before this urine enters the bladder, it collects in the renal pelvis. The renal pelvis is a sump of secondary urine before it enters the bladder.
Renal pelvis: what can be the pathology?
The renal pelvis and calyx of the kidney are a single system. They are located inside the body of the kidney, occupy a fairly large part of it and are part of the collector system. The renal pelvis itself is lined with a relatively thin mucous membrane from the inside. The body of the pelvis is a muscular organ that contracts to move urine down the urinary tract. If the renal pelvis is enlarged, then primarily doctors suggest
hydronephrosis of the pelvis of the kidney. This is an increase in the pyelocaliceal system in volume. Hydronephrosis can be congenital and acquired.
Usually congenital hydronephrosis can already be detected in a pregnant woman. When they do an ultrasound of the fetus, they see the expansion of the renal pelvis. After birth, the baby may have impaired urine outflow from the renal pelvis down the urinary tract. In this case, the pelvis expands, and the kidneys suffer from this.
The treatment of such anomalies is carried out after the birth of the baby and is done with the help of surgical operations.
In adults, hydronephrosis of the renal pelvis also occurs, but the cause of this disease is kidney stones, as well as a violation of the outflow of urine from the pelvis and renal calyx. This disease is aggravated by impaired blood circulation in the kidney tissue itself. They are more often affected by women.
This disease is treated surgically when reconstruction of the renal pelvis is performed. Currently, such operations are carried out using the laparoscopic method. It is less traumatic, and the result is usually positive.
There are also cancerous tumors of the renal pelvis. This is due to the fact that in the renal pelvis there are constantly calculi that cause hyperplasia. This presence can cause squamous cell carcinoma. The enlarged renal pelvis, unfortunately, makes it possible to suggest a malignant neoplasm. It can develop more quickly when the upper urinary tract is infected.
It should be noted that the risk of developing a tumor of the upper urinary tract and renal pelvis increases in patients with arterial hypertension.
The main symptoms of the development of a tumor of the renal pelvis is hematuria or, in other words, the appearance of blood in the urine. This is the first symptom of the tumor, but before the diagnosis of "cancer of the pelvis" can be established at least a year from the onset of hematuria.
Other symptoms of a tumor in the pelvis are pain in the lumbar region. Sudden weight loss is sometimes noted, while a person loses appetite and dysuria or urination disorder begins.
The main reasons for the development of renal pelvis cancer may be smoking, drinking alcohol, obesity, hypertension, excessive intake of drugs, eating fried, salted and smoked foods.
The possibility of developing a tumor of the renal pelvis with diabetes and working in conditions associated with harmful production is increasing. Especially often, such diseases occur in people working in asbestos factories, cement plants and other industries associated with heavy metal salts and pesticides.