Nephritic Syndrome

Nephritic syndrome is a syndrome comprising signs of nephritis, kidney disease involving inflammation, that often occurs in the glomerulus, where it is called glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis is characterized by inflammation and thinning of the glomerular basement membrane and the appearance of small pores in the podocytes of the glomerulus, which become large enough to permit both proteins and red blood cells to pass into the urine. By contrast, nephrotic syndrome is characterized by proteinuria and other symptoms that specifically do not include blood in the urine, though both syndromes may involve a low level of albumin in the blood as it moves from the blood into the urine.