What is considered an intrinsic renal vascular cause of chronic kidney disease?

Nephrosclerosis is recognized as an intrinsic renal vascular cause of chronic kidney disease because it specifically involves pathology within the renal vasculature itself. This condition is usually a result of chronic hypertension or other vascular diseases that lead to sclerosis of the renal arterioles, impacting blood flow and thus impairing kidney function. The process of nephrosclerosis entails thickening and narrowing of blood vessels, leading to ischemia and subsequent renal tissue damage, which contributes to the overall decline in kidney function associated with chronic kidney disease.

In contrast, conditions like diabetic nephropathy and hypertensive nephropathy often result from systemic processes affecting the kidney rather than intrinsic changes purely within the vascular structures. Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disorder characterized by fluid-filled cysts developing in the kidneys, which leads to renal enlargement and dysfunction but does not primarily involve vascular changes of the same nature as those seen in nephrosclerosis. This distinction is key in identifying nephrosclerosis as primarily a consequence of intrinsic renal vascular changes that lead to chronic kidney disease.