The histology of HIVAN (HIV-Associated Nephropathy), at the light microscopy level, is indistinguishable from that of collapsing FSGS: the glomerular capillary loops are collapsed. Furthermore, both entities demonstrate foot process effacement (as in all forms of nephrotic syndrome)…
Just like there’s no “I” in team…there’s no “N” in ATN. I heard this expression at our Renal Grand Rounds today featuring pathologist Isaac Stillman at nearby Beth Israel Hospital. It’s not completely accurate, as in many…
Here’s a video describing basic renal anatomy. Reviewing the vasculature is always a good idea: renal artery–>segmental arteries–>interlobar arteries–>arcuate arteries–>interlobular arteries–>afferent arterioles–>glomerular capillaries–>efferent arteriole.
The finding of fibrils on electron microscopy of a renal biopsy specimen may be an extremely important clue in establishing the diagnosis. In fact, for many of the conditions listed below, the diagnosis may be based PURELY on…
The World Health Organization (WHO) of lupus nephritis has provided a useful and simple framework for understanding this complex disease. In 2003, a committe of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) & Renal Pathologic Society (RPS) instituted some…
Mesangial cells–which historically have received less attention than their more “sexy” neighbor cell types of the glomerulus such as podocytes & endothelial cells–are actually quite interesting. They were originally seen as having purely a “matrix” function–that is, serving…
The glomerular filtration barrier is traditionally thought of as being comprised of 3 layers: (1) the fenestrated endothelium, (2) the glomerular basement membrane, and (3) the podocyte foot processes. Focusing on (2) the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), this…
Renal pathologists may throw out the term “full house” immunostaining…what does this mean? This means quite simply that all five major immunofluorescent stains on a renal biopsy (IgM, IgG, IgA, C3, and C1q) are all positive. The analogy…
