The renal system and its many functions are vital to an individual's overall health. This article discusses the important functions the kidneys carry out day to day, as well as the many different types of diseases and anomalies that affect the renal system. Some of the risk factors that cause renal disease can be minimized with physician monitoring; however, when disease is present the radiologic technologist plays a vital role in diagnosis and, ultimately, the patient's recovery.

After completing this article, readers should be able to."

* State the functions of the renal system.

* Know the importance of the 3 hormones produced in the kidneys.

* Identify the causes of ...

<2.5 cm) or upper ureteral calculi may be treated with ESWL." (15) If ESWL is decided upon, the patient is brought to the operating room and, under fluoroscopic guidance, a urologist will use the physical force of sound waves to crush the calculi (see Figure 8). (17) According to Weissleder, "Large renal calculi (>

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