nephrology

Nephrology is a specialty for both adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function and kidney disease, the preservation of kidney health, and the treatment of kidney disease, from diet and medication to renal replacement therapy. The word "renal" is an adjective meaning "relating to the kidneys", and its roots are French or late Latin. Some experts believe "renal" and "nephro-" should be replaced with "kidney" in scientific writings such as "kidney medicine" or "kidney replacement therapy". Other experts advocate preserving the use of renal and nephro- including in "nephrology" and "renal replacement therapy".