| Course | NU104 Pathophysiology for Nursing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 480 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BSN (prelicensure) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU104 Unit 1
One Kidney Doing the Work of Two: A Discussion Post Following Compensatory Hypertrophy in a Living Kidney Donor From the Day of Nephrectomy to the Point Where Adaptation Could Become Injury
NU104 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The donor is a composite; figures are typical values from published donor studies or bracketed.
Initial Post
For this week's question on cellular adaptation, I chose a situation where the stress is clear and the timing is known: a living kidney donor. [Dana], a composite 41-year-old, gave her left kidney to her brother. Before surgery, each of her kidneys handled about half of her filtration load. The day after, her right kidney was handling all of it, and her serum creatinine rose from [0.8] to [1.3] mg/dL because her total filtering capacity had been cut roughly in half.
Over the next weeks, the remaining kidney adapted. Its tubular cells enlarged, increasing in size and in the amount of protein and organelles inside them, which is hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia, since mature nephrons are not replaced by new ones. Each surviving nephron also began to filter more. Studies that measured donors before and after nephrectomy found that the filtration rate of each remaining nephron rose substantially, with glomerular enlargement and increased plasma flow driving most of the gain (Lenihan et al., 2015). Within months, Dana's creatinine settled near [1.0], and her total filtration recovered to roughly 70 percent of what two kidneys had provided.
Hypertrophy here is the kidney meeting a higher workload with bigger cells, not more of them, because adult nephrons do not divide to replace the ones that were lost.
Where does adaptation turn into injury? Our textbook describes adaptation as a reversible change that lets cells survive a new demand, and injury as what happens when that demand exceeds the cell's capacity to adapt (Rogers, 2023). In a healthy donor, the extra work per nephron seems to be well tolerated. But if Dana later develops high blood pressure or diabetes, each glomerulus is already filtering at a higher pressure, and the added stress could damage the capillary walls, showing first as protein in the urine. That is why donors are followed with yearly blood pressure, creatinine and urine protein checks.
My question for the group: does the long-term follow-up of donors count as watching for the shift from adaptation to injury, or is it really watching for new disease?
Reply to [Classmate T.]
[Classmate T.], your post on the thickened bladder wall in a man with an enlarged prostate is a good contrast to mine. Both are hypertrophy in response to workload, but his bladder muscle is working against an obstruction, while Dana's kidney is working harder because half the tissue is gone. I wonder whether the bladder ever reaches a point where the extra muscle stops helping, as the kidney might.
References
Lenihan, C. R., Busque, S., Derby, G., Blouch, K., Myers, B. D., & Tan, J. C. (2015). Longitudinal study of living kidney donor glomerular dynamics after nephrectomy. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 125(3), 1311-1318. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI78885
Rogers, J. L. (Ed.). (2023). McCance & Huether's pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children (9th ed.). Elsevier.
What the NU104 Unit 1 assignment asks for
Unit 1 usually asks for one example of cellular adaptation explained from cause to consequence. Prompts often name the five adaptations, atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, metaplasia and dysplasia, and want a single case that shows one of them clearly. An initial post of about 300 to 450 words plus one or two replies is typical. Instructors look for the correct term, a stress that clearly drives the change, an accurate account of what happens inside the cells, and a statement of where adaptation ends and injury begins. Because later units build on this vocabulary, precise language earns credit. Keep any patient composite, cite a source for factual claims, and close with a question that invites real discussion.
How this NU104 Unit 1 example is built
The post opens by explaining why a kidney donor was chosen: the stress and its timing are known. It then follows the donor from surgery through the first rise in creatinine to the weeks of adaptation, naming the cellular change and the reason it is hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia, with the highlighted sentence on nephrons not dividing. A published longitudinal study of donors supports the rise in single-nephron filtration. The textbook's distinction between adaptation and injury frames the final paragraph, which names high blood pressure and diabetes as later stresses and explains why donors are followed every year. A question for the group closes the initial post, and a reply compares the case with a classmate's bladder example.
Reading the NU104 Unit 1 grading rubric
Discussion posts in NU 104 are typically graded on accuracy of content, depth of explanation, use of sources, and engagement with peers. Accuracy earns the most points when the adaptation is named correctly and the cellular change is described in the right terms. Depth is judged on whether the post explains the mechanism forward from the stress, rather than listing features. Source use is credited when a scholarly reference supports a specific factual claim and is cited in APA 7. Engagement covers the reply, which should compare or extend a classmate's example rather than simply agree. Clear writing and meeting the deadline for both the initial post and replies usually make up the rest.
NU104 Unit 1 help: mistakes that cost points
Posts lose points most often by confusing hypertrophy and hyperplasia, or by naming an adaptation without explaining what drives it. Another common gap is stopping at the adaptation without saying when it becomes harmful, which the first unit usually expects. Some posts choose a disease rather than an adaptation and end up describing injury from the start. Replies that only praise a classmate earn little. Choose a case with one clear stress, explain the change inside the cells, say why it is the term you chose and not its neighbor, name the point where the cell can no longer cope, and use your reply to compare two examples of the same adaptation.
Get an NU104 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Post the Unit 1 discussion prompt here along with the rubric your section uses, and a model post on the adaptation or injury you name comes back within 24-48h. The first sample costs nothing. It is written to your instructions, including any reply requirement, and uses a composite patient only. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More NU104 papers and BSN samples
- NU104 Unit 2: Concept Map
- NU104 Unit 3: Case Study Analysis
- NU104 Unit 4: Mechanism Write-up
- NU104 Unit 5: Systems Review
- NU104 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- NU104 Unit 7: Lab Value Interpretation
- NU104 Unit 8: Case Study Analysis
- NU104 Unit 9: Concept Map
- NU104 Unit 10: Final Synthesis Paper
NU104 Unit 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NU104 Unit 1 sample paper?
This page holds the full NU104 Unit 1 discussion board post on compensatory hypertrophy in a living kidney donor, with an initial post, a question for classmates and a short reply to a classmate, with two references. Ask us for a post on the adaptation your section assigns can be written for you on request.
Is the kidney donor's change hypertrophy or hyperplasia?
Hypertrophy. The remaining kidney's cells grow larger and each nephron filters more, but adult nephrons do not divide to replace the ones removed, so the number of filtering units stays the same while each one enlarges.
When does adaptation become injury in NU104 Unit 1?
When the stress exceeds what the cells can handle. In the donor example, glomeruli already working harder could be damaged if high blood pressure or diabetes later adds more pressure, showing first as protein in the urine.
How long should an NU 104 discussion post be?
The sample's initial post runs about 400 words with a short reply, which fits most prompts. Check your section's rubric for the required number of replies and sources before you post.
Which cellular adaptations does pathophysiology Unit 1 cover?
Usually atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, metaplasia and dysplasia. The sample picks one, hypertrophy, and explains it through a single stress so the mechanism stays clear.