hypothyroidism

DEFINITION:

Deficiency of thyroid activity. In adults, it is most common in women and is characterized by decrease in basal metabolic rate, fatigue and lethargy, sensitivity to cold, and menstrual disturbances. If untreated, it progresses to full-blown myxedema. In infants, severe hypothyroidism leads to cretinism. In juveniles, the manifestations are intermediate, with less severe mental and developmental retardation and only mild symptoms of the adult form. When due to thyrotropin deficiency it is called secondary hypothyroidism.

abnormalities

DEFINITION:

1. The quality or fact of being abnormal.


2. Malformations, deformities, or anomalies.

renal

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to the kidney.

abnormalities

DEFINITION:

1. The quality or fact of being abnormal.


2. Malformations, deformities, or anomalies.

pharmacologically

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to pharmacology or to the properties and reactions of drugs.

assessed

DEFINITION:

Evaluated or appraised.

immunohistochemistry

DEFINITION:

See immunohistochemical .

hypothyroidism

DEFINITION:

Deficiency of thyroid activity. In adults, it is most common in women and is characterized by decrease in basal metabolic rate, fatigue and lethargy, sensitivity to cold, and menstrual disturbances. If untreated, it progresses to full-blown myxedema. In infants, severe hypothyroidism leads to cretinism. In juveniles, the manifestations are intermediate, with less severe mental and developmental retardation and only mild symptoms of the adult form. When due to thyrotropin deficiency it is called secondary hypothyroidism.

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

creatinine clearance

DEFINITION:

The renal clearance of endogenous creatinine, a commonly used clinical measurement that closely estimates the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

transport

DEFINITION:

The movement of materials in biological systems, particularly into and out of cells and across epithelial layers.

proteins

DEFINITION:

Any of a group of complex organic compounds which contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur, the characteristic element being nitrogen, and which are widely distributed in plants and animals. Proteins, the principal constituents of the protoplasm of all cells, are of high molecular weight and consist essentially of combinations of a-amino acids in peptide linkages. Twenty different amino acids are commonly found in proteins, and each protein has a unique, genetically defined amino acid sequence which determines its specific shape and function. They serve as enzymes, structural elements, hormones, immunoglobulins, etc., and are involved in oxygen transport, muscle contraction, electron transport, and other activities throughout the body, and in photosynthesis.

binding protein - any of a number of plasma proteins (See below) that bind to hormones of low solubility (chiefly the thyroid and steroid hormones), thus providing a transport system for them; some are specific for particular hormones, while others bind to any sparingly soluble hormones. Called also carrier protein or transport protein (See below).

carrier proteins - A binding protein (See above).

plasma proteins - The hundreds of different proteins present in blood plasma, including carrier proteins (such as albumin, transferrin, and haptoglobin), fibrinogen and other coagulation factors, complement components, immunoglobulins, enzyme inhibitors, precursors of substances such as angiotensin and bradykinin, and many other types of proteins.

transport protein - binding protein (See above).

proximal tubular

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to the proximal convoluted tubule or the proximal straight tubule, both parts of the renal tubule.

NHE3

DEFINITION:

Abbreviation for type 3 Na(+)/H(+) exchanger.

aquaporin-2

DEFINITION:

Also called WCH-CD, this water channel makes the principal cells of the inner medullary collecting duct in the kidneys more permeable to water. Lack of functional aquaporin-2 gene leads to a rare form of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

AQP2

DEFINITION:

Aquaporin-2.

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

proteins

DEFINITION:

Any of a group of complex organic compounds which contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur, the characteristic element being nitrogen, and which are widely distributed in plants and animals. Proteins, the principal constituents of the protoplasm of all cells, are of high molecular weight and consist essentially of combinations of a-amino acids in peptide linkages. Twenty different amino acids are commonly found in proteins, and each protein has a unique, genetically defined amino acid sequence which determines its specific shape and function. They serve as enzymes, structural elements, hormones, immunoglobulins, etc., and are involved in oxygen transport, muscle contraction, electron transport, and other activities throughout the body, and in photosynthesis.

binding protein - any of a number of plasma proteins (See below) that bind to hormones of low solubility (chiefly the thyroid and steroid hormones), thus providing a transport system for them; some are specific for particular hormones, while others bind to any sparingly soluble hormones. Called also carrier protein or transport protein (See below).

carrier proteins - A binding protein (See above).

plasma proteins - The hundreds of different proteins present in blood plasma, including carrier proteins (such as albumin, transferrin, and haptoglobin), fibrinogen and other coagulation factors, complement components, immunoglobulins, enzyme inhibitors, precursors of substances such as angiotensin and bradykinin, and many other types of proteins.

transport protein - binding protein (See above).

NHE3

DEFINITION:

Abbreviation for type 3 Na(+)/H(+) exchanger.

expression

DEFINITION:

1. The aspect or appearance of the face (or surface of a cell) as determined by the physical or emotional state.

2. The act of squeezing or evacuating by pressure; a term used in pharmacy, surgery, and obstetrics.

3. The detectable effect of a gene.

4. A representation of value, relation, or the like (e.g., ratio).

GFR

DEFINITION:

Glomerular filtration rate.

AQP2

DEFINITION:

Aquaporin-2.

vasopressin

DEFINITION:

1. One of two octapeptide hormones formed by the neuronal cells of the hypothalamic nuclei and stored in the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland (neurohypophysis), the other being oxytocin. It stimulates the contraction of the muscular tissue of the capillaries and arterioles, raising the blood pressure. It promotes contraction of the intestinal musculature and increases peristalsis, and also exerts some contractile influence on the uterus. It also has a specific effect on the epithelial cells of the distal portion of the uriniferous tubule, augmenting resorption of water independently of solutes, resulting in concentration of urine and dilution of blood serum. Its rate of secretion is regulated chiefly by the osmolarity of the plasma.

2. [USP], A pharmaceutical preparation of the same principle, prepared synthetically or obtained from the posterior pituitary of healthy domestic animals used for food by man; used mainly as an antidiuretic in the treatment of acute or chronic diabetes insipidus, administered intramuscularly as a test of hypothalamo-neurohypophysial-renal function in distinguishing central from nephrogenic diabetes insipidus; it may also be used to stimulate smooth muscle tissue, especially to induce vasoconstriction in the presence of hemorrhage. Called also antidiuretic hormone (ADH).

urinary excretion

DEFINITION:

The throwing off or elimination of urine by normal discharge.

hormone

DEFINITION:

A product of living cells that circulates in body fluids and produces a specific effect on the activity of cells remote from its point of origin; especially: one exerting a stimulatory effect on a cellular activity.

hypophysiotropic hormones - Hormones produced by the hypothalamus, usually releasing hormones (see below), which maintain the endocrine functions of cells of the adenohypophysis.

neurohormone - A hormone secreted by a specialized neuron into the bloodstream, the cerebrospinal fluid, or the intercellular spaces of the nervous system.

releasing hormones - Hormones elaborated in one structure that cause the release of hormones from another structure, such as those from the hypothalamus that act on the adenohypophysis. The term is applied to substances of established chemical identity, whereas substances of unknown chemical structure are called releasing factors .

alpha

DEFINITION:

1. The first letter of the Greek alphabet (A or α).

2. Something first; beginning.

beta

DEFINITION:

[B, β] The second letter of the Greek alphabet.

As Beta - The beets, a genus of herbaceous plants of the family Chenopodiaceae. Beta vulgaris (L.) is the sugar beet, a commercial source of sucrose. The leafy tops of beets are rich in oxalates and can cause oxalate poisoning in animals that eat them in large amounts.

ENaC

DEFINITION:

A sodium channel sensitive to the diuretic amiloride. (Knepper)

Na,K-ATPase

DEFINITION:

See Na+,K+-ATPase .

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

expression

DEFINITION:

1. The aspect or appearance of the face (or surface of a cell) as determined by the physical or emotional state.

2. The act of squeezing or evacuating by pressure; a term used in pharmacy, surgery, and obstetrics.

3. The detectable effect of a gene.

4. A representation of value, relation, or the like (e.g., ratio).

transporters

DEFINITION:

Transport proteins; often specifically a transport protein that after binding one to several molecules of substrate, undergoes a conformational change that moves only the substrate across the membrane. Different types facilitate movement with (symport) and against (antiport) concentration gradients.

renal

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to the kidney.

sodium

DEFINITION:

A silver white soft waxy ductile element of the alkali metal group that occurs abundantly in nature in combined form and is very active chemically.

altered

DEFINITION:

1. Having been made or become different.

2. Castrated; spayed.

3. Abbreviation for "alteration."

transporter

DEFINITION:

A transport protein; often specifically a transport protein that after binding one to several molecules of substrate, undergoes a conformational change that moves only the substrate across the membrane. Different types facilitate movement with (symport) and against (antiport) concentration gradients.

kidney

DEFINITION:

One of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.

natriuresis

DEFINITION:

The excretion of sodium in the urine.

clinical symptoms

DEFINITION:

Symptoms observed while in a clinical setting.

permission

DEFINITION:

Formal consent; authorization.