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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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Most kidney bruises do not cause lasting effects. If the injury causes scarring, that area will no longer function. Even with the loss of one kidney (as with living donors) the other kidney can do the job very efficiently.
Those with long-standing kidney failure associated with anemia, blood vessel changes, and poor peripheral blood circulation do not respond normally to bacterial invasion of the skin from simple scratches and bruises. This can then result in blood poisoning, a very serious complication.
Variation (differences) in the size of the two kidneys is a common finding. It is not usually associated with any problems. There are a large number of reasons why one kidney can be significantly larger than the other. You could have been born with a small kidney that otherwise can function well. Another reason could be that the blood supply to the small kidney is reduced by the process of atherosclerosis. This often is detected first by increase in the blood pressure. Occasionally, as the uterus enlarges during pregnancy, urine flow through the ureter is obstructed, which can also lead to enlargement of one of the kidneys over the other. There are autoimmune disorders that very rarely attack one kidney more than the other. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and some forms of glomerulonephritis are two such disorders. Diabetes mellitus can also affect one kidney more than the other. Finally, blood-born infectious agents may attack one kidney.
A pelvic kidney is the result of mal-rotation of the kidney during development. The location of the kidney in the pelvis results in an unusual course for the ureter (the tube connecting the kidney to the urinary bladder). During pregnancy, as the uterus grows, the ureter can become compressed, leading to obstruction of the urine flow to the bladder.
A horseshoe kidney refers to a malformation that occurs during the development of the kidneys during intra-uterine development. The two kidneys do not separate completely, leaving a connecting band that crosses over the spinal column. This abnormality can take a number of different shapes. The most common shape is one that looks like a horseshoe with the open end pointing toward the head. It usually does not have any serious complications.
This article is a NetWellness exclusive. 
Last Reviewed: Apr 01, 2004
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Philip W. Hall, 3rd, MD Professor of Medicine Emeritus Office of Medical Education School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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