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The number of children treated for terminal renal failure (TRF) has increased over the last decade. In spite of this, the incidence of newly discovered children and adolescents with CKD is much lower than in adults. In the past years, the results of kidney transplantation in children have been improving and are approaching those in adults. Improvement in transplantation results

Although chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not a typical disease of childhood and its frequency in children is much lower than in adults, it is nevertheless an important health problem in children and adolescents. Based on glomerular filtration rate (GFR), chronic kidney disease is classified into five stages. The fifth stage of chronic kidney disease is also called terminal renal

In this review article, the authors present a survey of urinary tract infections in infants and small children. Relevant terminology is outlined and the incidence, etiology and diverse clin­ical pictures of these infections are presented. The importance of accurate diagnosis based on proper urine collection and the need for prompt therapy, especially in the first year of life, are stressed.

This article describes drugs influencing water and electrolyte excretion, called diuretics. Most of them modify the transport of sodium ions in tubular epithelial cells via different mech­anisms. They are the drug of choice for the treatment of hypertension and diseases with concomitant edema, such as congestive heart failure, electrolyte disturbances, kidney dis­eases and liver cirrhosis.

The majority of primary glomerulonephritides is mediated by the deposition of circulating or in situ formed immune complexes, which may be confirmed by immunofluorescence find­ing of glomerular granular immune deposits. Their composition and electron microscopically defined localization identify various forms of immune complex glomerulonephritides with different courses and prognoses. Acute postinfectious glomerulonephritis is endocapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis characterized by subepithelial hump-like

Renal injury can lead to acute (AKD) or chronic kidney disease (CKD). The presence, progress and distinction between AKD and CKD can be determined by monitoring serum creatinine and BUN values. Prerenal kidney failure is the most common form of AKD. AKD can be irre­versible or, alternatively, can lead to a slow recovery of kidney function. Symptoms and signs of

These chapter describes the normal kidney function. The emphasis is on the mass flow of salts, water and some other products of the metabolism through the kidney tubular system. The clirens and counter-current flow systems and their function in the urin formation and the household of water are outlined.

The kidney is a paired organ that is positioned on the lumbocostal triangle of the diaphragm and on the posterior abdominal wall muscles, outside of the peritoneal cavity and within a fibrous capsule and fatty tissue. It is composed of renal cortex containing the renal glomerules and the medulla that consists of renal pyramids. The peaks of these pyramids are