What are tubular diseases?

Also known as: renal tubular disease, renal tubular acidosis (RTA).

Tubular diseases are disorders of the tubules, an essential part of the nephron, (there are approximately 1 million of these kidney units) which filters the body’s blood stream.

The renal tubules are a series of ducts (called the proximal convoluted tubule, the loop of Henle, the distal convoluted duct, and collecting ducts) which modify/reabsorb the filtered fluid to ensure the correct balance of water and salts and acidity that the body requires to keep blood levels stable plus aid in the removal of waste products produced during cell metabolism.

Renal tubular disorders are a diverse group of conditions, both generalized and specific that develop when the tubules don’t work properly resulting in the body’s blood water, salts, and level of acidity, singly or together, becoming abnormal. This results in a variety of problems.


Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM

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