The renal pelvis or pelvis of the kidney is the funnel-like dilated part of the ureter in the kidney. It is formed by the convergence of the Renal calyx, acting as a funnel for urine flowing from the major calyces to the ureter. It has a mucous membrane and is covered with transitional epithelium and an underlying lamina propria of loose-to-dense connective tissue.
The renal pelvis is situated within the renal sinus alongside the other structures of the renal sinus.
Clinical significance
The renal pelvis is the location of several kinds of
kidney cancer and is affected by infection in
pyelonephritis. A large "staghorn" kidney stone may block all or part of the renal pelvis.
The size of the renal pelvis plays a major role in the grading of hydronephrosis. Normally, the anteroposterior diameter of the renal pelvis is less than 4 mm in up to 32 weeks of gestational age and 7 mm afterwards.[ Page 189 in: ] In adults, 13% of the normal population have a transverse pelvic diameter of over 10 mm.
Etymology and pronunciation
Like the
pelvis, the renal pelvis () gets its English name via
Neo-Latin from the older
Latin word
, "basin", as in "sink". denotes the renal pelvis (
pyelo- is not to be confused with
). The words and
' are other words for funnel-shaped cavities (which medical English got from the Latin and Greek words for "funnel", respectively), and the renal pelvis is sometimes called the renal infundibulum
'. The form *renal choana''
accidental gap.
==Additional images==
See also
External links
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—"Section of the kidney, anterior view."
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—"Mammal, renal pelvis (Gross, Medium)"
-
—"Mammal, renal pelvis (LM, Medium)"
