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Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract
Make it clearer
CAKUT stands for congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. It is not one disease: it is a group of disorders that affect the kidneys or the path urine takes on its way out.
They are congenital, meaning present at birth, because the urinary system did not form properly while the baby was developing. It is a pipe that was put together wrong when the house was built. Even so, they are sometimes not apparent at birth and are only found later. They are attributed to a mix of genetic and environmental factors.
Besides the kidney, they can affect the bladder, where urine is stored, the ureters, the tubes that carry it from the kidney to the bladder, or the urethra, the tube through which it leaves the body. That is why repeated urinary tract infections can show up, or urine buildup that ends up damaging the kidney.
In brief
Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract, or CAKUT, are disorders of the kidneys or of the rest of the urinary tract.
They come from abnormal development of the urinary system and are present at birth, though they are sometimes not noticed until later; they are attributed to genetic and environmental factors.
It is a pipe that was put together wrong when the house was built.
They can affect the bladder, the ureters or the urethra, with repeated urinary tract infections or urine buildup that damages the kidney.
Sources (1)
- MedlinePlus Genetics, U.S. National Library of MedicineCongenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract, MedlinePlus GeneticsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated