syndrome

DEFINITION:

A set of symptoms which occur together.

polyuria

DEFINITION:

The passage of a large volume of urine in a given period, a characteristic of diabetes.

polydipsia

DEFINITION:

Excessive or abnormal thirst.

disorders

DEFINITION:

Derangements or abnormalities of function; morbid physical or mental states.

central diabetes insipidus

DEFINITION:

See under diabetes insipidus.

nephrogenic diabetes insipidus

DEFINITION:

A syndrome of polyuria and hyposthenuria caused by the failure of the renal tubules to reabsorb water in response to antidiuretic hormone, without disturbance in the renal filtration and solute excretion rates; the condition does not respond to exogenous vasopressin. It may be inherited as a rare X-linked trait or be acquired as a result of drug therapy or systemic disease.

congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus

DEFINITION:

A condition involving the kidneys (see nephrogenic diabetes insipidus) which exists at, and usually before, birth. Congenital refers to conditions that are present at birth, regardless of their causation.

antidiuretic hormone

DEFINITION:

See vasopressin.

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 .

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.

acquired

DEFINITION:

Not genetic, but produced by influences originating outside the organism.

tubulointerstitial

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to the renal tubules and interstitial tissues.

urinary tract

DEFINITION:

The organs and passageways that participate in the excretion of the urine from the kidneys through the bladder and the urinary meatus.

The urinary tract consists of the kidneys (with their blood and nerve supplies), the renal pelves (funnel-shaped ducts that channel urine from the kidneys into the ureters), the ureters, bladder, and urethra.

The kidneys make urine by filtering blood. The urine collects in the renal pelves and then passes down the ureters into the bladder by gravity and by peristalsis (wavelike contractions of the ureteric walls). Urine is then stored in the bladder until a sufficient amount is present to stimulate micturition (passage of urine). When the bladder contracts, the urine is expelled from the body via the urethra.

obstructive

DEFINITION:

The existence of an obstruction.

disorders

DEFINITION:

Derangements or abnormalities of function; morbid physical or mental states.

lithium

DEFINITION:

A white metal; atomic number, 3. Lithium salts (lithium carbonate and lithium citrate) are used in treating the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

lithium carbonate - [USP], chemical name: carbonic acid dilithium salt. A white, granular powder, Li₂CO₃, used in the treatment of acute manic states and in the prophylaxis of recurrent affective disorders manifested by depression or mania only, or those in which both mania and depression occur occasionally, administered orally.

lithium citrate - The citrate salt of lithium, used to treat the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

differential

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to a difference or differences.

osmolality

DEFINITION:

The concentration of an osmotic solution especially when measured in osmols or milliosmols per 1000 grams of solvent.
Osmolality is a measure of the concentration of particles in a solution. A highly concentrated solution will have a high osmolality. That is, it will have more particles per unit of solvent than a solution with a low osmolality. (JC)

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).

urine

DEFINITION:

The fluid excreted by the kidneys, passed through the ureters, stored in the bladder, and discharged through the urethra. Urine, in health, has an amber color, a slight acid reaction, a peculiar odor, and a bitter, saline taste.

plasma

DEFINITION:

1. The fluid portion of the blood in which the particulate components are suspended. Plasma is to be distinguished from serum , which is the cell-free portion of the blood from which the fibrinogen has been separated in the process of clotting. See blood plasma .
2. The lymph deprived of its corpuscles or cells.
3. A glycerite of starch used in preparing ointments.
4. Cytoplasm or protoplasm.

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).

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).

thiazide

DEFINITION:

Any of several drugs used as oral diuretics.

potassium

DEFINITION:

A metallic element of the alkali group, many of whose salts are used in medicine. Potassium is the chief positively-charged ion of muscle and most other cells (intracellular fluid).

compounds

DEFINITION:

See definitions under "compound."

steroid

DEFINITION:

Any of numerous compounds containing a 17-carbon 4-ring system and including the sterols and various hormones and glycosides.

dDAVP

DEFINITION:

Also DDAVP. Trademark for preparation of desmopressin.