Nephrology
medical specialty that concerns itself with the kidneys
Nephrology (from Ancient Greek νεφρός (nephrós), meaning "kidney", and λόγος (lógos), meaning "study") is a specialty for both adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (renal physiology) and kidney disease (renal pathophysiology), the preservation of kidney health, and the treatment of kidney disease, from diet and medication to renal replacement therapy (dialysis and kidney transplantation). The word "renal" is an adjective meaning "relating to the kidneys", and its roots are French or late Latin. Some experts believe "renal" and "nephro-" should be replaced with "kidney" in scientific writings such as "kidney medicine" (instead of "nephrology") or "kidney replacement therapy". Other experts advocate preserving the use of renal and nephro- including in "nephrology" and "renal replacement therapy".
Nephrology also studies systemic conditions that affect the kidneys, such as diabetes and autoimmune disease; and systemic diseases that occur as a result of kidney disease, such as renal osteodystrophy and hypertension. A physician who has undertaken additional training and become certified in nephrology is called a nephrologist.
Etymology
The term "nephrology" was first used in about 1960, according to the French néphrologie proposed by Jean Hamburger in 1953, from Ancient Greek νεφρός (nephrós), meaning "kidney", and λόγος (lógos), meaning "study". Before then, the specialty was usually referred to as "kidney medicine".
Scope
Nephrology concerns the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases, including electrolyte disturbances and hypertension, and the care of those requiring renal replacement therapy, including dialysis and renal transplant patients.
The word dialysis is from the mid-19th century: via Latin from the Greek word dialusis; from dialuein (split, separate), from dia (apart) and luein (set free).
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q177635. The Library of Congress control number is sh85090860. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1960 and 1953.
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This entry incorporates text from “Nephrology” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.