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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

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Illustration showing kidney cross section Kidney cross section

Glomerulonephritis (gloe-mer-u-lo-nuh-FRY-tis) is inflammation of the tiny filters in your kidneys (glomeruli). Glomeruli remove excess fluid, electrolytes and waste from your bloodstream and pass them into your urine. Also called glomerular disease, glomerulonephritis can be acute — a sudden attack of inflammation — or chronic — coming on gradually.

If glomerulonephritis occurs on its own, it's known as primary glomerulonephritis. If another disease, such as lupus or diabetes, is the cause, it's called secondary glomerulonephritis. If severe or prolonged, the inflammation associated with glomerulonephritis can damage your kidneys. Treatment depends on the type of glomerulonephritis you have.

Symptoms
References
  1. Your kidneys and how they work. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/yourkidneys/index.htm#rate. Accessed Feb. 3, 2011.
  2. Glomerulonephritis. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/glomerul.cfm. Accessed Feb. 3, 2011.
  3. Glomerular diseases. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/glomerular/. Accessed Feb. 3, 2011.
  4. Glomerular diseases. In: Kumar V, et al. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier, 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0792-2..50025-0--cesec6&isbn=978-1-4377-0792-2&type=bookPage&sectionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0792-2..50025-0--cesec6&uniqId=234806001-3. Accessed Feb. 3, 2011.
  5. Rose BD, et al. Differential diagnosis of glomerular disease. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Feb. 3, 2011.
  6. Lau KK, et al. Glomerulonephritis. Adolescent Medicine Clinics. 2005;16:67.
DS00503 April 2, 2011

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