Glomerulonephritis is an inflammation of the kidneys. This medical term is derived from two words, “glomeruli” and “nephritis”. The first word, glomeruli, refers to tiny biological sieves in the kidneys explicitly involved in filtering out the blood. Hence, the process is called glomerular filtration. Whenever there is a problem in the kidneys, your doctor will ask for a kidney test, and the lab professional will check the glomerular filtration rate of the kidneys, and that is why GFR must be in normal condition to confirm that your kidneys are healthy. Dysfunctional glomeruli lead to glomerular diseases. In case of damaged or injured glomeruli, the kidneys release unfiltered blood or incompletely filtered blood in the bloodstream, which creates problems and results in various malignancies.
What is Glomerulonephritis?
Glomerulonephritis is the infection of the kidney’s glomeruli. Glomeruli are the cleaning units of kidneys; they are formed from a network of minute blood vessels that can filter blood. Removal of nitrogenous waste and other extra fluids from the blood is carried inside the glomerulus. There are a lot of glomeruli in a single kidney.
Symptoms of Glomerulonephritis
Glomerulonephritis can be mild or severe. In severe conditions of glomerulonephritis, the symptoms are quite inevitable and easy to explain. Patients most commonly complain of blood in the urine. If there are increased amounts of proteins in the blood, the urine looks frothy. Excess protein expelling out of the body through urine may result in swelling in the lower limbs, more towards ankles and calves.
What causes glomerulonephritis?
Glomerulonephritis can occur due to various medical conditions affecting kidneys and their functions. Apart from kidney diseases and metabolic disorders, glomerulonephritis can also be caused due to lifestyle interventions, hierarchical reasons, or as a result, any bacterial or fungal infections. I have enlisted all the plausible causes of glomerulonephritis in the table given below:
|
S. No.
|
Cause of glomerulonephritis
|
Types of glomeruloneph\
ritis
|
-
|
Infections
|
Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.
Bacterial endocarditis.
Viral kidney infections
HIV
|
-
|
Autoimmune diseases
|
Goodpasture’s syndrome
Lupus
IgA nephropathy
|
-
|
Vasculitis
|
Polyarteritis.
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis.
|
-
|
Sclerotic conditions
|
Diabetic kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy)
High blood pressure
Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
|
-
|
Miscellaneous causes
|
Chronic glomerulonephritis (hierarchical)
|
-
|
Cancers
|
Glomerulonephritis can also be caused due to lung
|
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Glomerulonephritis?
Glomerulonephritis is the infection of the kidney’s glomeruli. Glomeruli are the cleaning units of kidneys; they are formed from a network of minute blood vessels that can filter blood. Removal of nitrogenous waste and other extra fluids from the blood is carried inside the glomerulus. There are a lot of glomeruli in a single kidney.
What are the symptoms of Glomerulonephritis?
Glomerulonephritis can be mild or severe. In severe conditions of glomerulonephritis, the symptoms are quite inevitable and easy to explain. Patients most commonly complain of blood in the urine. If there are increased amounts of proteins in the blood, the urine looks frothy. Excess protein expelling out of the body through urine may result in swelling in the lower limbs, more towards ankles and calves.
What causes glomerulonephritis?
Glomerulonephritis can be caused due to various medical conditions affecting kidneys and their functions. Apart from kidney diseases and metabolic disorders, glomerulonephritis can also be caused due to lifestyle interventions, hierarchical reasons, or as a result, any bacterial or fungal infections. I have enlisted all the plausible causes of glomerulonephritis in the table given below:
|
S. No.
|
Cause of glomerulonephritis
|
Types of glomerulonephritis
|
-
|
Infections
|
Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.
Bacterial endocarditis.
Viral kidney infections
HIV
|
-
|
Autoimmune diseases
|
Goodpasture’s syndrome
Lupus
IgA nephropathy
|
-
|
Vasculitis
|
Polyarteritis.
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis.
|
-
|
Sclerotic conditions
|
Diabetic kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy)
High blood pressure
Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
|
-
|
Miscellaneous causes
|
Chronic glomerulonephritis (hierarchical)
|
-
|
Cancers
|
Glomerulonephritis can also be caused due to lung
|
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