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What Causes Renal Cortical Thinning?

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Posted on Wed, 14 Oct 2015
Question: What is mild renal cortical thinning?
I had a renal ultrasound done in an effort to find the reason for recurrent UTI's , (6 of them since 01/15)
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (23 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
it means nephron loss

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

cortical thinning in the kidney means loss of nephrons. A nephron is the functional (and anatomical) unit of the kidney. There are many nephrons in each kidney. When many nephrons receive damage by any cause, cortical thinning can be detected on the ultrasound scan. Repeated urinary tract infections may cause nephron damage. Obstruction and toxins are other potential causes. The ultrasound scan cannot distinguish between the various causes. It can only detect the outcome.

Kind Regards!
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3815 Questions

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What Causes Renal Cortical Thinning?

Brief Answer: it means nephron loss Detailed Answer: Hello, cortical thinning in the kidney means loss of nephrons. A nephron is the functional (and anatomical) unit of the kidney. There are many nephrons in each kidney. When many nephrons receive damage by any cause, cortical thinning can be detected on the ultrasound scan. Repeated urinary tract infections may cause nephron damage. Obstruction and toxins are other potential causes. The ultrasound scan cannot distinguish between the various causes. It can only detect the outcome. Kind Regards!