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Understanding Glomerular Diseases | National Kidney Foundation

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What is glomerular disease? Your kidneys may be small, but they perform many vital functions that help maintain your overall health, including filtering waste and excess fluids from your blood. Your kidneys have about one million tiny filter units called nephrons. Each nephron has a glomerulus, so that means there are over one million of them too. More than one glomerulus are called glomeruli. Glomeruli work like strainers used in cooking. While blood moves through them, they let waste and extra water pass into the nephrons to make urine.

Generally, a diagnosis can include any combination of symptoms, blood and urine tests, a kidney biopsy, genetic testing, and antibody testing. A urinalysis is a test that checks your urine for signs of health issues. An eGFR, or estimated glomerular filtration rate, is a blood test that shows how well your kidneys are filtering, or removing, wastes form your blood. A urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) is a urine test that checks for high protein (albumin) in the urine, which is a sign of kidney damage. A urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR) may also be used. This test is…

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