What is Glomerulonephritis?

 Jason”s case is not unmoral for children of his age. After taking into consideration all of his ailing factors and noted symptoms it is apparent that Jason is suffering from Glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis is the term used for several related diseases that damage the Glomeruli, the tiny filtering units in your kidneys. Glomerulonephritis is associated with disorders in which your immune system attacks the Glomeruli.

In a healthy kidney, blood passes through the Glomeruli, which filter out certain chemicals including waste products. Most of the water and certain chemicals such as sugars are then reabsorbed into the bloodstream. The remaining waste material is collected as urine and excreted from the body. As blood enters into the renal artery it travels through smaller vessels on its route to the cortex of the kidney. Once in the cores, the vessels become even smaller forming capillary balls called Glomeruli. The Glomeruli pick up certain substances that travel through the Glomeruli capillary wall and enter the proximal kidney tubules, creating an ultrafiltration system, which eventually becomes urine. Substances that do not filter through the Glomeruli wall continue through the Kidneys blood supply, allowing it to reenter the renal vein and inferior vena cava. On a normal basis only small molecular weights (such as sugars, fatty acids, water, etc.) Are filtered at the renal Glomeruli. Larger waste such as proteins and hormones do not normally filter through the glomerular barrier. If the Glomeruli are damaged by an infection than substances, which are not normally filtered, will end up in the renal-urinary tubules. This will allow the red blood cells to discolor the urine and appear on a Urinalysis, which is a sign of glomerular disease.

This process is adversely affected by the damaged Glomeruli. The most obvious disturbance is that red blood cells leak through the Glomeruli into your urine.