Inflammation of both the renal pelvis and the kidney.

• A. Pyelonephritis
• B. Cystalgia
• C. Vesicovaginal Fistula
• D. Urethritis

Answer: (A)

Inflammation of both the renal pelvis and the kidney is described by the term pyelonephritis. The name comes from pyelo-, meaning the renal pelvis, and nephritis, meaning inflammation of the kidney tissue. This term captures the idea that both parts—the pelvis where urine collects and the kidney parenchyma itself—are involved in the inflammatory process, usually from an infection that has ascended from the urinary tract.

This condition is distinct from bladder-focused problems like cystitis (inflammation of the bladder) and from urethral inflammation (urethritis). It’s also not a fistula between bladder and vagina (vesicovaginal fistula), which is a structural abnormality with urine leakage rather than an inflammatory process of the kidney and pelvis.