http://www.nephcure.org/Info_aboutfsgs.html

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surgery aug 13th 2003, 377 to start down 150 lbs, been digignosed

with this desease. anyone else?Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis

(FSGS) is a type of Glomerular Disease, one of many diseases that

affect kidney function by attacking the glomeruli, the tiny units

within the kidney where blood is cleaned. Glomerulosclerosis (gloh-

MAIR-yoo-loh-skleh-ROH-sis) describes the scarring or hardening of

the tiny blood vessels within the kidney.

What are the kidneys and what do they do?

The two kidneys are bean-shaped organs located near the middle of

the back, just below the rib cage to the left and right of the

spine. Each about the size of a fist, these organs act as

sophisticated filters for the body. They process about 400 quarts of

blood a day to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra

water that eventually leave the body as urine.

Blood enters the kidneys through arteries that branch inside the

kidneys into tiny clusters of looping blood vessels. Each cluster is

called a glomerulus, which comes from the Greek word meaning filter.

The plural form of the word is glomeruli. There are approximately 1

million glomeruli, or filters, in each kidney. The glomerulus is

attached to the opening of a small fluid-collecting tube called a

tubule. Blood is filtered in the glomerulus, and extra water and

wastes pass into the tubule and become urine. Eventually, the urine

drains from the kidneys into the bladder through larger tubes called

ureters.

Each glomerulus-and-tubule unit is called a nephron. Each kidney is

composed of about 1 million nephrons. In healthy nephrons, the

glomerular membrane that separates the blood vessel from the tubule

allows waste products and extra water to pass into the tubule while

keeping blood cells and protein in the bloodstream.