What Did That Mean?
Basic Meanings for Commonly Used Terms in Kidney Disease
 

Did a doctor or healthcare provider use a word that totally went over your head? In fact, it sounded a whole lot like gibberish to you?

Well, the first thing you should do is ask your healthcare provider what they meant, because it's important that the two of you are communicating clearly. Next, check out the glossary below.

Anasarca - The term anasarca refers to the severe, widespread accumulation of fluid in the various tissues and cavities of the body.

AV Fistula - See Hemodialysis Catheter.

Catheter - A thin, flexible tube. For example, a catheter placed in a vein provides a pathway for giving drugs, nutrients, fluids, or blood products.

Creatinine - A chemical waste molecule that is generated from muscle metabolism. Creatinine is produced from creatine, a molecule of major importance for energy production in muscles. Approximately 2% of the body's creatine is converted to creatinine every day. Creatinine is transported through the bloodstream to the kidneys. The kidneys filter out most of the creatinine and dispose of it in the urine...Although it is a waste, creatinine serves a vital diagnostic function...Normal levels of creatinine in the blood are approximately 0.6 to 1.2 milligrams (mg) per deciliter (dl) in adult males and 0.5 to 1.1 milligrams per deciliter in adult females...
 
CVL (Central Venous Line) - A catheter (tube) that is passed through a vein to end up in the thoracic (chest) portion of the vena cava (the large vein returning blood to the heart) or in the right atrium of the heart.

Dialysis - The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dialysis is necessary when the kidneys are not able to filter the blood. Dialysis allows patients with kidney failure a chance to live productive lives. There are two types of dialysis: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Each type of dialysis has advantages and disadvantages. Patients can often choose the type of long term dialysis that best matches their needs.

Edema - The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess water accumulation.

Hemodialysis - A medical procedure that uses a special machine (a dialysis machine) to filter waste products from the blood and to restore normal constituents to it. This shuffling of multiple substances is accomplished by virtue of the differences in the rates of their diffusion through a semipermeable membrane (a dialysis membrane).

Hemodialysis Catheter - A hemodialysis catheter is a type of central venous catheter. Long-term access for hemodialysis may be provided by subcutaneous arteriovenous fistulas in which an artery (the radial artery) is surgically anastomosed (connected) to a vein (the cephalic vein). However, after this procedure is done, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the forearm veins to dilate and arterialize to be suitable for repeated puncture and hence for long-term hemodialysis.

 

Nephrologist - A medical specialist in nephrology (the study of the kidney or "kidney-ology").
 
Nephrotic Syndrome - The most common form of the nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disorder that affects the structures called glomeruli which contain small capillaries surrounded by membranes through which the blood is filtered to form urine. Called minimal change disease (MCD) because under the ordinary light microscope the kidney biopsy appears normal and only under the greater magnification of the electron microscope (EM) does the biopsy show minimal changes in the glomeruli including fusion of a portion of the epithelial layer. MCD most often affects children but occurs occasionally in adults.

Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) - Technique that uses the patient's own body tissues inside of the belly (abdominal cavity) to act as a filter. The intestines lie in the abdominal cavity, the space between the abdominal wall and the spine. A plastic tube called a "dialysis catheter" is placed through the abdominal wall into the abdominal cavity. A special fluid is then flushed into the abdominal cavity and washes around the intestines. The intestinal walls act as a filter between this fluid and the blood stream. By using different types of solutions, waste products and excess water can be removed from the body through this process.
 
Pitting Edema - Pitting edema can be demonstrated by applying pressure to, for example, the skin of a swollen leg, by depressing the skin with a finger. If the pressing causes an indentation in the skin that persists for some time after the release of the pressure, the edema is referred to as pitting edema.

Is there a word in missing from our glossary that you would like see in it? Simply click here to send us your word.

The definitions on this page were referenced from the MedicineNet.com web site. For more information on medical terms or other medically related information, visit MedicineNet.com.