Glomerular Diseases: Nephritic and Nephrotic Syndromes
Start with the big picture
Nephritic syndrome is characterized by hematuria, often with RBC casts, hypertension, reduced urine output or azotemia, and proteinuria below the nephrotic range. Nephrotic syndrome features heavy proteinuria, edema, hypoalbuminemia, and hyperlipiduria, with minimal hematuria. The lesson connects these patterns to conditions including poststreptococcal GN, RPGN, Goodpasture syndrome, IgA nephropathy, Alport syndrome, MPGN, minimal change disease, FSGS, membranous nephropathy, and diabetic glomerulonephropathy. It also highlights how immune-deposit location helps distinguish diseases, and reviews nephrotic complications and broad management approaches.
What you'll learn
- Distinguish nephritic from nephrotic syndrome using clinical and urinary findings.
- Relate major glomerular diseases to characteristic pathology and clinical associations.
- Identify immune-deposit locations associated with selected glomerular diseases.
- Recognize important complications of nephrotic syndrome.
- Summarize core management principles for nephritic and nephrotic patterns.
Continue your study
Work through the complete notes and reinforce the topic with the study tools available in the full lesson.
