Kidney Diseases

Also called: Renal disease

On this page

Summary

You have two kidneys, each about the size of your fist. They are near the middle of your back, just below the rib cage. Inside each kidney there are about a million tiny structures called nephrons. They filter your blood. They remove wastes and extra water, which become urine. The urine flows through tubes called ureters. It goes to your bladder, which stores the urine until you go to the bathroom.

Most kidney diseases attack the nephrons. This damage may leave kidneys unable to remove wastes. Causes can include genetic problems, injuries, or medicines. You have a higher risk of kidney disease if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a close family member with kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease damages the nephrons slowly over several years. Other kidney problems include

Your doctor can do blood and urine tests to check if you have kidney disease. If your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

Keep Your Kidneys Healthy: Catch Kidney Disease Early (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
Kidneys and How They Work (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

Alport Syndrome Diagnosis (Alport Syndrome Foundation)
Creatinine: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Kidney Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Urinalysis: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

Keep Your Kidneys Healthy (National Kidney Disease Education Program) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

Dandelion (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
Kidney removal - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Nephrectomy (Kidney Removal) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Living With

Low Phosphorus Diet: Best for Kidney Disease? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Phosphorous and Your CKD Diet (National Kidney Foundation)

Related Issues

Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Ectopic Kidney (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Hydronephrosis (National Kidney Foundation)
Pain Medicines (Analgesics) (National Kidney Foundation)
Pain Medicines and Kidney Damage (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Renal Disease and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Specifics

Alport Syndrome (National Kidney Foundation)
Amyloidosis and Kidney Disease (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Glomerular Diseases (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Goodpasture Syndrome (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
IgA Nephropathy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Interstitial Nephritis (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Lupus Nephritis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Nephrotic Syndrome (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Nephrotic Syndrome in Adults (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Renal Tubular Acidosis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Solitary Kidney (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: 17q12 deletion syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: action myoclonus-renal failure syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Alport syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Bartter syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: branchiootorenal/branchiootic syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: C3 glomerulopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: complete LCAT deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital nephrotic syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: cystinosis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Dent disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Denys-Drash syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Frasier syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Gitelman syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Lowe syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Mainzer-Saldino syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: medullary cystic kidney disease type 1 (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: nail-patella syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: REN-related kidney disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: renal coloboma syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: renal hypouricemia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: renal tubular acidosis with deafness (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: renal tubular dysgenesis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Senior-Løken syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: SLC4A1-associated distal renal tubular acidosis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Townes-Brocks Syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: uromodulin-associated kidney disease (National Library of Medicine)

Health Check Tools

Kidney Quiz (National Kidney Foundation)
Rate Your Risk Quiz (National Kidney Foundation)

Videos and Tutorials

Kidney School (Life Options Rehabilitation Program)

Statistics and Research

FastStats: Kidney Disease (National Center for Health Statistics)
Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Leading Causes of Kidney Failure (American Kidney Fund)
National Kidney Foundation Newsroom (National Kidney Foundation)
New Study Shows 59 Percent of Americans Will Develop Kidney Disease in Their Lifetime (National Kidney Foundation)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Kidney Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Nephritis (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Polycystic Kidney Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Kidneys and How They Work (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
Kidneys and Urinary Tract (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

Find a Urologist (Urology Care Foundation)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Kidney Disease Education Program
National Kidney Foundation

Children

Blood in the Urine (Hematuria) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Detecting Kidney and Urinary Tract Abnormalities Before Birth (National Kidney Foundation)
Glomerulonephritis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome in Children (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Nephrotic Syndrome (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Overview of Kidney Diseases in Children (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Proteinuria in Children (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Renal Tubular Acidosis (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Ultrasound: Renal (Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
Urine Blockage in Newborns (National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse)
Your Child Has Hydronephrosis (National Kidney Foundation)

Teenagers

Kidneys and Urinary Tract (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Seniors

Kidney Problems (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)

Patient Handouts

ACE inhibitors (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Acute nephritic syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Analgesic nephropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Atheroembolic renal disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Bartter syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Bilateral hydronephrosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Congenital nephrotic syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Distal renal tubular acidosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Glomerulonephritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Goodpasture syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
IgA nephropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Injury - kidney and ureter (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Interstitial nephritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Kidney removal (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Kidney removal - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Membranoproliferative GN I (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Membranous nephropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Minimal change disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Nephrocalcinosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Nephrotic syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Obstructive uropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Perirenal abscess (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Proximal renal tubular acidosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Reflux nephropathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Renal papillary necrosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Renal vein thrombosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Unilateral hydronephrosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish