a review article of 2015, there has been an increase in cases of acute kidney injury in the last 20 years which cannot be explained solely by changes to the manner of reporting. History Before the advancement of modern medicine, acute kidney injury was referred to as uremic poisoning while uremia was contamination of the blood with urine. Starting around 1847, uremia came to be used for reduced urine output, a condition now called oliguria, which was thought to be caused by the urine's mixing with the blood instead of being voided through the urethra. Acute kidney injury due to acute tubular necrosis (ATN) was recognized in the 1940s in the United Kingdom, where crush injury victims during the London Blitz developed patchy necrosis of kidney tubules, leading to a sudden decrease in kidney function. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, the incidence of AKI decreased due to better acute management and administration of intravenous fluids. See also BUN-to-creatinine ratio Chronic kidney disease Dialysis Genitourinary tract injury Kidney failure Rhabdomyolysis Contrast-induced nephropathy Ischemia-reperfusion injury of the appendicular musculoskeletal system Kidney Ischemia References External links Medical emergencies Kidney diseases Organ failure Causes of death