What signifies nephritis compared to nephrosis?

Nephritis is characterized by inflammation of the kidneys, which often leads to the presence of hematuria, or blood in the urine. This is a key distinguishing feature between nephritis and nephrosis. In nephritis, the inflammatory process can damage the glomeruli, allowing red blood cells to leak into the urine.

In contrast, nephrosis, such as in minimal change disease or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, is primarily defined by the presence of significant proteinuria and edema without the prominent inflammatory changes that would cause hematuria. While nephrosis does present with edema due to significant protein loss leading to hypoalbuminemia, it commonly does not show hematuria or inflammatory cells in the urine.

Analyzing other aspects: Higher levels of proteinuria are more typical in nephrosis, where the primary issue is the loss of proteins (particularly albumin) through the damaged glomeruli. The absence of tubular casts in the urine is also more aligned with nephrosis, whereas nephritis may present with casts due to inflammation and cell debris. Therefore, the presence of hematuria is a hallmark sign of nephritis.