Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a type of nephrotic syndrome. The term is used to describe a specific pattern of kidney damage that doctors see when they examine tissue from a kidney biopsy under a microscope.
FSGS is very rare. Nephrotic syndrome affects around 1 in 50,000 children a year in the UK. Around 1 in 4 of these will be diagnosed with FSGS.
Your kidneys contain about a million tiny filters called glomeruli. These can be damaged and scarred by nephrotic syndrome. FSGS describes a particular pattern of scarring:
- focal – some but not all of the glomeruli are affected
- segmental – a segment (part) of each glomerulus is scarred
- glomerulosclerosis – there is scarring on the glomeruli (‘sclerosis’ means scarring)
Share this page with a QR code, print or save as PDF
Click on the blue box (on the right or below) and scan the QR code with your phone or tablet.
This web page is printer-friendly.
To save the page as a PDF, print as normal and select "Save as PDF" as your printer destination.