Principles and Methods for the Assessment of Nephrotoxicity Associated with Exposure to Chemicals - Environmental Health Criteria 119

Nephrotoxicity can be defined as renal disease or dysfunction that arises as a direct or indirect result of exposure to medicines, and industrial or environmental chemicals. It is well established that toxic nephropathies are not restricted to a single type of renal injury. Some chemicals target one discrete anatomical region of the kidney and may affect only one cell type. Chemical insult to the kidney may result in a spectrum of nephropathies that are indistinguishable from those that do not have a chemical etiology.