What is Hydronephrosis?
Definition Hydronephrosis is the swelling of the kidneys when urine flow is obstructed in any of part of the urinary tract. Swelling of the ureter, which always accompanies hydronephrosis, is called hydroureter. Hydronephrosis implies that a ureter and the renal pelvis (the connection of the ureter to the kidney) are overfilled with urine. Description The kidneys filter urine out of the blood as a waste product. It collects in the renal pelvis and flows down the ureters into the bladder. The ureters are not simple tubes, but muscular passages that actively propel urine into the bladder. At their lower end is a valve (the ureterovesical junction) that prevents urine from flowing backward into the ureter. The bladder stores urine. The prostate gland surrounds the bladder outlet in males. Urine then flows through the urethra and out of the body as a waste product. Because the urinary tract is closed save for the one opening at the bottom, urine cannot escape. Instead, the parts distend. R
Hydronephrosis is dilation or stretching of the area of kidneys where urine collects that can occur when there is an obstruction of urine flow somewhere along the urinary tract, most often in the upper section. Normally, urine flows from the kidneys down through the ureters and into the bladder. But, if there is some kind of a blockage that prevents urine from draining properly into the bladder or out of the bladder, the kidney overfills with urine and hydronephrosis occurs. The blockage may be partial, letting urine pass, but at a slower rate and with increased pressure. Another cause of hydronephrosis is vesicoureteral reflux, when urine that dwells in the bladder flows back into the ureters and often back into the kidneys. Most children with hydronephrosis are born with the condition although it can develop during childhood. It is the most common urinary tract anomaly (abnormality) and ranges in severity. In mild hydronephrosis, the pelvic (the part of the kidney that collects the u
• Hydronephrosis: Swollen kidneys from retained urine. • Hydronephrosis: A distention of the pelvis and calices of the kidney with urine, as a result of obstruction of the ureter, with accompanying atrophy of the parenchyma of the organ. (Dorland, 27th ed) Source – Diseases Database • Hydronephrosis: accumulation of urine in the kidney because of an obstruction in the ureter. Source – WordNet 2.
