What is "nephrosis"

n. (context pathology English) A non-inflammatory disease of the kidneys that is characterised by the leaking of blood protein into the urine, swelling or oedema, and degenerative lesions.

1. n. a syndrome characterized by edema and large amounts of protein in the urine and usually increased blood cholesterol; usually associated with glomerulonephritis or with a complication of various systemic diseases [syn: nephrotic syndrome]

2. a disease affecting the kidneys [syn: kidney disease, renal disorder, nephropathy]

Nephrosis is any of various forms of kidney disease (nephropathy). In an old and broad sense of the term, it is any nephropathy, but in current usage the term is usually restricted to a narrower sense of nephropathy without inflammation or neoplasia, in which sense it is distinguished from nephritis, which involves inflammation. It is also defined as any purely degenerative disease of the renal tubules. Nephrosis is characterized by a set of signs called the nephrotic syndrome. Nephrosis can be a primary disorder or can be secondary to another disorder. Nephrotic complications of another disorder can coexist with nephritic complications. In other words, nephrosis and nephritis can be pathophysiologically contradistinguished, but that does not mean that they cannot occur simultaneously.

Types of nephrosis include amyloid nephrosis and osmotic nephrosis.