Nephrology is a specialty of general medicine that focuses on the treatment of diseases that affect the kidneys.

You have two kidneys. They’re located below your ribcage on either side of your spine. The kidneys have several vital functions, including:

removing excess fluid from the blood

maintaining your body’s electrolyte balance

releasing hormones with functions like managing vital sign

Who is nephrologist’s?

A nephrologist may be a sort of doctor that focuses on treating diseases of the kidney. Not only do nephrologists have expertise on diseases that specifically affect the kidney, but they’re also very intimate how renal disorder or dysfunction can affect other parts of your body.

Although your medical care doctor will work to assist prevent and treat early stages of renal disorder, a nephrologist could also be called in to assist diagnose and treat more severe or complex kidney conditions.

Conditions a nephrologist treats

Nephrologists can work with you to assist diagnose and treat the subsequent conditions:

blood or protein in urine

chronic kidney disease

kidney stones, although a urologist can also treat this

kidney infections

kidney swelling thanks to glomerulonephritis or interstitial nephritis

kidney cancer

polycystic kidney disease

hemolytic uremic syndrome

renal artery stenosis

nephrotic syndrome

kidney failure, both acute and chronic

Tests and procedures

If you’re visiting a nephrologist, they’ll be involved in performing a spread of tests and procedures or interpreting the results.

Laboratory tests

A wide range of tests are often wont to assess the function of your kidneys. These tests performed on blood or urine sample.

Blood tests

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Helps to measures how well your kidneys are filtering blood. GFR begins to decrease below normal levels in renal disorder.

Serum creatinine. Creatinine may be a waste and is present at higher levels within the blood of individuals with kidney dysfunction.

Blood urea nitrogen (BUN). As with creatinine, finding high levels of this waste within the blood may be a sign of kidney dysfunction.

Urine tests

Urinalysis. This urine sample are often tested with a dipstick for pH also because the presence of abnormal amounts of blood, glucose, protein, or bacteria.

Albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR). This urine test measures the quantity of the protein albumin in your urine. Albumin within the urine may be a sign of kidney dysfunction.

24-hour urine collection. This method uses a special container to gather all of the urine that you simply produce during a 24-hour period. Further testing can be performed on this sample.

24-hour urine collection. This method uses a special container to gather all of the urine that you simply produce during a 24-hour period. Further testing can be performed on this sample.

Procedures

In addition to reviewing and interpreting the results of your laboratory tests, a nephrologist can also perform or work with other specialists on the subsequent procedures:

imaging tests of the kidneys, like ultrasounds, CT scans, or X-rays

dialysis, including placement of the dialysis catheter

kidney biopsies

kidney transplants

Differences between nephrology and urology

The fields of nephrology and urology share some overlap because they will both involve the kidneys. While a nephrologist focuses on diseases and conditions that affect the kidney more directly, a urologist focuses on diseases and conditions which will affect the male and feminine tract.

The tract includes the kidneys, but also several other parts like the ureters, bladder, and urethra. A urologist also works with the male reproductive organs, like the penis, testes, and prostate.

Conditions that a urologist may treat can include:

kidney stones

bladder infections

bladder control issues

erectile dysfunctionc

enlarged prostate