GLOSSARY

Anemia: A condition characterized by a deficiency of RBCs and/or hemoglobin within the RBCs, or reduced volume of blood. Anemic RBCs cannot function adequately to supply oxygen to the body's tissues.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD, Kidney failure): The inability of the kidneys to excrete wastes, concentrate urine, and conserve electroytes in order to maintain the body's equilibrium. Kidney failure causes rapid accumulation of nitrogenous wastes in the blood. This condition can be acute-sudden but potentially reversible, or chronic-gradual, with few signs and symptoms in the early stages and irreversible.

Erythrocyte (red blood cell, RBC): The major cellular element of the circulating blood, reddish in color and biconcave (indented on both sides) in shape, approximately seven micrometers in diameter, and responsible for oxygen delivery to the body's cells.

Erythropoietin (EPO): EPO is a hormone that is critical to our overall vitality. Produced in the kidneys, EPO travels through the bloodstream and enters the marrow of certain bones through their porous exterior. There, it binds to stem cell surface receptors and instructs the developing cells to become red blood cells.

Kidney: One of a pair of bean-shaped organs located in the posterior abdomen, one on each side of the spine. Each kidney is composed of more than one million nephrons that filter blood under high pressure, removing urea, salts, and other soluble wastes from the blood and returning the purified filtrate to the bloodstream. The kidneys process more than 2,500 pints of blood per day. The kidneys also produce the hormone EPO.