Surgery | Common Surgical Conditions | Genitourinary Disease Loin Pain

Genitourinary Disease: Loin Pain
Session Overview
Description
This session will enable the student to identify various patterns of loin pain and the associated differential diagnoses. It will discuss in more depth renal/ureteric calculi, relevant investigations and requirements for surgical intervention.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Explain the anatomy of the kidneys and urinary system and form a list of differential diagnoses for loin pain
• Discuss which investigations can be used to diagnose and assess calculi
• Identify when surgical intervention is required and describe common surgical approaches

The loin is bordered by the 12th rib superiorly, iliac crest inferiorly, spinal column in the midline medially and the posterior axillary line laterally. It overlies the kidneys and part of the ureters.
Loin pain is commonly encountered in UK hospitals and the presentation can give valuable clues to the diagnosis.
The kidneys and ureters are commonly implicated in the etiology however there are a variety of more common differential diagnoses and it is important to be able to choose appropriate investigations to secure a diagnosis and thus create the all important management plan outlining whether or not the patient requires urgent surgical intervention as opposed to a conservative approach in the case of a urological diagnosis.