Chronic Renal Disease

Chronic Renal Disease

General Description

Chronic Renal disease is problematic in the Urinary system and is another name for Chronic Kidney disease. The kidneys are two organs shaped like beans that are the size of a baseball. They are located in the upper abdominal area against the back muscles sitting on opposite sides of the spine in the body. Kidneys play an important role in filtering metabolic waste and excess water from the blood. The kidneys are made up of a million small nephrons consisting of a glomerulus and a tubule that actually is the control center for the filtering. Kidneys work with a few other organs to complete its filtering process such as two thin muscles called the ureters which connect to the bladder where urine is stored and then the kidneys allow the urine to exit out of the urethra. Kidneys play a major role in keeping blood pressure under control, hormone synthesis, and keeping a chemical balance in the body. According to the National Kidney Foundation, chronic renal disease occurs when the kidneys are damaged and can no longer filter blood as normal kidneys could. CKD (Chronic Kidney disease) is a disease that can be obtained at any age but usually develops over time as the body gets overworked and worn out due to old age or bad health habits. This is why you see people more likely over the age of 60 with CKD. It is also hereditary as African- Americans are said to be more likely to have chronic kidney disease. “26 million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk. African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and seniors are at increased risk and African Americans are 3 times more likely to experience kidney failure” (National Kidney Foundation(NKUDIC), about chronic kidney disease, pg1 par2).

Pathophysiology

In the past few years scientist and doctors have worked hard on understanding what happens when there is damage to the kidneys. The damages lie in the tubules that make up the...