The Urology Center Glossary terms

Kidney Infection:

The medical term for kidney infection is pyelonephritis. The term implies a serious condition involving inflammation (and usually bacterial infection) of one or both kidneys. The infection often begins as a simple bladder infection which progresses to involve the kidneys. However, occasionally infection may spread to the kidneys through the blood stream. Pyelonephritis requires x-rays and investigation by a urologist nearly every case, almost without exception.

Patients should be as precise as possible when speaking about their medical histories with regard to urinary tract infections. Patients often state that they have had a "kidney infection" (pyelonephritis) when they really mean that they have had a bladder infection (cystitis) or bladder inflammation (also called cystitis). Pyelonephritis is a much more serious illness which often involves fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and flank pain. Because pyelonephritis usually includes infection of the kidney as well as the bladder, the symptoms of pyelonephritis also include symptoms of a simple bladder infection such as lower abdominal discomfort, urge to urinate, frequency of urination and burning with urination.

(See related glossary terms: "urine analysis", "inflammation", "culture", "bladder infection", "infection", "urinary tract infection", "cystitis", "reflux").