Renal
Lessons
Illustrated, high-yield walkthroughs of the renal concepts the boards test most.
A five-step algorithm for reading any ABG — pH, primary driver, anion gap, compensation (Winter's), then the delta gap — packaged with the formulas, MUDPILES/HARDASS mnemonics, and the mixed-disorder vignettes (DKA, salicylates, vomiting) that Step 1 and CK reward.
A board-focused walkthrough of acute kidney injury that localizes each case to prerenal, intrinsic, or postrenal using BUN:Cr, FENa, and urine sediment, then drives the tested next-best-step and dialysis decisions. Emphasizes classic vignette buzzwords (muddy-brown casts, hyaline casts, eosinophiluria) and management reflexes.
A Step 2 CK high-yield lesson on chronic kidney disease covering hyperfiltration pathophysiology, KDIGO CGA staging, complications (anemia, CKD-MBD, acidosis, uremia), and guideline management, with board vignettes and next-best-step decisions on RAAS blockade, SGLT2 inhibitors, finerenone, and dialysis indications.
A board-focused walk through nephritic syndromes — inflammatory glomerular injury presenting with hematuria/RBC casts, hypertension, and azotemia — organized around the two exam discriminators (complement level and disease tempo) with classic buzzwords, RPGN emergencies, and next-best-step management.
A board-focused walkthrough of nephrotic syndrome: podocyte pathophysiology, the classic tetrad and its hypercoagulable and infectious complications, and the biopsy buzzwords, antibody tests, and next-best-step decisions that distinguish minimal change, FSGS, membranous, MPGN, diabetic, and amyloid disease.
A Step 2 CK-focused breakdown of hypo- and hyperkalemia covering pathophysiology (internal vs external balance), classic causes and ECG buzzwords, lab/urine localization, and the emergency next-best-step management ladders — stabilize → shift → eliminate for hyperkalemia, and replace K+ plus Mg for hypokalemia. Built around vignette buzzwords (U waves, peaked T waves) and the digoxin links boards love to test.
A Step 1-focused lesson on renal tubular acidosis that frames all types as a normal anion gap (hyperchloremic) metabolic acidosis and teaches the board discriminators — serum potassium, urine pH, and the urine anion gap — through a comparison table, classic vignettes, and next-best-step management. Corrected the urine anion gap teaching: it is positive in distal (Type 1) and Type 4 RTA but unreliable (often negative) in proximal (Type 2) RTA, which is identified by its Fanconi features instead.
A boards-focused walkthrough of nephrolithiasis — stone chemistry with classic crystal buzzwords, renal-colic presentation, CT-first diagnosis, and size-based plus emergency management — anchored on the high-yield infected-obstructed-stone next-best-step decision.
Sample questions
Stems only. Sign up free to see answer choices, correct option, and the rationale.
A 24-year-old woman presents with periorbital edema and 3+ proteinuria on dipstick after a recent URI. Renal biopsy shows normal light microscopy and effaced foot processes on EM. Which is the most appropriate initial therapy?
Sample flashcards
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis labs?
First-line treatment of uncomplicated cystitis?
Bladder cancer most common type in US?
Polycystic kidney disease most common gene?
Most common renal stone in chronic UTI?
Hyponatremia: first decision branch?
FAQ
What's covered in the Renal topic?
Renal covers high-yield mechanisms, clinical presentations, diagnostic workup, and management — drawn from First Aid, Pathoma, and the NBME content outline.
How many practice questions does Renal have?
1 board-style multiple-choice questions and 105 spaced-repetition flashcards. Sign up free to drill them with adaptive difficulty and a Socratic AI tutor that explains every wrong answer.
Is Renal on USMLE Step 1 or Step 2 CK?
Renal appears on both Step 1 (foundational mechanisms) and Step 2 CK (clinical decision-making). Our questions are tagged by exam target so you can filter to just the Step you're studying.
Drill Renal on every exam-target.
1 questions + 105 flashcards waiting. Adaptive, spaced-repetition, with a Socratic AI tutor that explains every miss in plain English.
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