The renal pelvis

The renal pelvis is part of the kidney cavity system. It is located on the site of the kidney gates. Its physiological volume is from four to eight milliliters. The renal pelvis collects urine from the cups for subsequent transport of it down the ureter. On the front of it there are kidney vessels, so it is more convenient and safe to carry out the dissection of the wall along its lower or posterior surface.

The renal pelvis may be extrarenal or intrarenal. As a rule, it looks like a triangle (funnel). However, its shape can be bag-shaped, ampullar or branched. According to the pyelo-urethral segment, the renal pelvis passes into the ureter. This segment is a very significant area and requires careful treatment during surgery.

Hydronephrosis is a disease that results in an increase in the renal pelvis. This condition provokes tissue thinning and damage to the kidney function. The emergence of hydronephrosis is due to a violation of natural urinary outflow from the pelvis. Such a violation leads to a violation of blood circulation in the kidney tissues. Children and women are more susceptible to hydronephrosis.

An increase in pelvis in children can be noted both on the right and on the left kidney. In severe cases, bilateral hydronephrosis is observed, which, as a rule, develops as a result of urological pathology.

Hydronephrosis is classified into congenital (primary) and acquired (secondary).

In the first case, the disease occurs due to an anomaly in the development of the upper sections of the urinary tract. Secondary disease is a complication of some other urological disease (urolithiasis, prostate or urinary tract tumors, inflammatory diseases).

Irrespective of classification, hydronephrosis is infected or aseptic and can develop in three stages.

As practice shows, children develop most often a primary (congenital) disease. It is a consequence of the wrong location of the ureter, its squeezing or constriction.

An increase in the pelvis of the kidney from the fetus can be detected at the twentieth week of development. With the help of ultrasound revealed an anomaly, but the exact diagnosis is put in rare cases. This is due to the fact that the pathology disappears independently with the further formation of organs.

In some cases, the increase in the pelvis is observed in newborns. Signs of the disease in such cases are blood in the urine and an enlarged abdomen.

It should be noted that this condition in childhood is quite easy to treat and in most cases does not require surgical intervention.

The enlargement of the renal pelvis in the fetus is due to the formation of an obstruction in the path of urinary outflow. As a rule, the disease can be detected by ultrasound at 18-22 weeks of development.

Moderate expansion, as a rule, does not affect the health of the child after birth. Usually, in the prenatal period, moderate pyelonectasia disappears on its own. With a severe disease, the outflow of urine from the kidney is much more difficult. This, in turn, causes a violation of renal function, compression and tissue atrophy. To this disease is often attached and inflammatory process (pyelonephritis).

As observations show, pyeloectasis is often observed in fetuses with Down syndrome. It should be noted that the detection of an expansion of pelvis does not increase the risk of the presence of the syndrome and does not refer to indications for the appointment of other diagnostic measures.

Usually, with moderate pyelonectasia, ultrasound is prescribed every third month after birth in order to prevent it. If there is a urinary infection, antibiotics can be prescribed. In the case of an increase in the degree of pyelonectasia, a detailed urological examination is prescribed.