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Your Kidneys during Acute Renal Failure

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What happens when your kidneys fail? Acute renal failure is a disorder of the kidneys when it’s ceased to perform its functions. For example, the kidneys lose its ability to excrete wastes. When your kidneys fail because of a disease or injury, wastes and extra fluid can build up in the blood and make you sick. Kidneys will not be able to maintain homeostasis of electrolytes. A high level of plasma potassium, sodium concentration, and elevated pH will be evident as well.

ARF can be arranged depending upon the underlying cause. Pre-renal is the disruption of flow to the glomerulus. Decrease flow to the afferent arterioles can severely affect the nephrons ability to perform its functions. This is due to an abrupt drop in blood flow because of massive vasoconstriction in relation to decrease in volume. Intra-renal failure, however, is an actual damage to the kidneys. Damage to the nephrons may be short-term that injury to the cells and nephrons are not able to work. It could also be permanent where the damage to the nephrons is so severe that it becomes completely dysfunctional. Despite the injuries, the nephrons are capable to restore itself and recover once blood flow is brought back to normal. Post-renal is an obstruction beyond the nephron. Blockage in the ureters, bladder, and urethra can cause buildup of waste products. An example of this is BPH or benign prostate hypertrophy where the prostate gland gets so enlarged that it causes disruption of urine flow.

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