++
The male reproductive system is discussed with the urinary system because they both come under the surgical subspecialty of urology. Nonsurgical diseases of the kidney come under the medical subspecialty of nephrology.
++
Urinary tract infections (Chapter 49: The Kidney: III. Tubulointerstitial Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Neoplasms) are very common, especially in women. Many glomerular diseases (Chapter 48: The Kidney: II. Glomerular Diseases) have an immunologic basis, and the reader will benefit by reviewing mechanisms of immunologic hypersensitivity in Chapter 8: Immunologic Injury. Chronic renal disease is associated with hypertension (see Chapter 20: The Blood Vessels), anemia (see Chapter 24: Blood: I. Structure & Function; Anemias Due to Decreased Erythropoiesis), abnormalities in parathyroid gland function (see Chapter 59: The Parathyroid Glands), and abnormalities in bone (see Chapter 67: Diseases of Bones). Renal transplantation is routinely performed in most large medical centers for the management of chronic renal failure. This subject is not discussed in this section, and the reader should refer to Chapter 8: Immunologic Injury.
++
Neoplasms of the kidney (Chapter 49: The Kidney: III. Tubulointerstitial Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Neoplasms) and urinary bladder (Chapter 50: The Ureters, Urinary Bladder, & Urethra) are common. Prostate diseases, including benign prostatic hyperplasia and carcinoma (Chapter 51: The Testis, Prostate, & Penis) are extremely common in elderly men. Testicular germ cell neoplasms, although not common, are of importance because they represent a group of neoplasms for which very successful chemotherapy is available.