What is hydronephrosis?

Hint: The word nephrosis is related to the kidney. The nephrons are the structural and functional units of the kidney. Nephrosis is any kind of degenerative disease in the kidney tubules.

Complete answer:
The kidneys are the most important excretory organ in our body. The kidney functions in maintaining the fluid balance of our body, excretion of the toxic wastes and osmoregulation. When the tissues in the kidney get damaged, it is the condition called nephrosis due to which the kidney is unable to filter our waste from the body.

One such kind of kidney dysfunction is called hydronephrosis. It is a condition in which the urine is built-up which results in the swelling of the kidney. It occurs due to any kind of obstruction or blockage in the ureter due to which the kidney cannot pour the urine into the bladder. The symptoms of this disease can be a pain in the sides and back, abdomen or groin. There also occurs pain during urination along with nausea and fever. In some cases, the symptoms do not occur.

The other cause of ureter blockage can be kidney stones. Hydronephrosis can be treated by treating the underlying cause of the disease. The disease can also lead to kidney failure. The patient may require dialysis or even a kidney transplant.

Note: An ultrasound is used to diagnose the disease. Another method like X-ray, CT scan or MRI can diagnose the disease. Some cases can be treated with surgery and some infections can be treated by the help of antibiotics.