What does increased echogenicity of the kidney mean?

Increased echogenicity of the kidney parenchyma results from the increased presence of material that can reflect sound waves back, thus increasing its brightness on the ultrasonography image.

What causes increased renal cortical echogenicity?

Increased cortical echogenicity is commonly attributed to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and has been correlated with interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, and glomerulosclerosis in histologic studies.

What is bilateral echogenic kidneys?

Echogenic kidneys can be bilateral (both kidneys are bright on imaging) or unilateral (only one kidney appears bright).

Is an echogenic kidney bad?

Echogenic kidneys were associated with medical renal disease in 94\% of cases (30\% glomerular, 48\% tubulointerstitial, 16\% end-stage) and with no detectable renal disease in 6\% (three patients). Patterns of increased echogenicity and renal size were evaluated.

What is renal cortical?

The renal cortex is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. In the adult, it forms a continuous smooth outer zone with a number of projections (cortical columns) that extend down between the pyramids.

What does bilateral renal cortical thinning mean?

Bilateral renal cortical thinning (or thinning of the kidney cortex) means that the kidney has been scarred and the amount of functioning tissue (functioning nephrons) in the kidney cortex has decreased.

What renal disease means?

(REE-nul FAYL-yer) A condition in which the kidneys stop working and are not able to remove waste and extra water from the blood or keep body chemicals in balance.

What does increased cortical echogenicity mean?

Increased cortical echogenicity is a marker of renal disease that correlates to severity of interstitial histological changes in renal parenchymal disease [5]. Normally, the renal cortical echoes are lower in amplitude than either the normal parenchyma of the spleen or the liver [7].

What is cortical cyst?

Renal cysts are sacs of fluid that form in the kidneys. They are usually characterized as “simple” cysts, meaning they have a thin wall and contain water-like fluid. Renal cysts become fairly common as people age and usually do not cause symptoms or harm.