When blood flow in the arteries supplying the kidneys is completely blocked, the entire kidney or a portion of the kidney supplied by that artery dies (kidney infarction). Kidney infarction can lead to the inability of the kidneys to process and excrete the body's waste products (kidney failure). Blood vessel disorders of the kidneys have a number of causes, including blockages in the renal arteries or veins, inflammation of blood vessels , injury to the kidneys or blood vessels, and other disorders.
Iditarod veteran Kelly Maixner, of Big Lake, Alaska, leaves Nenana, Alaska on Monday, March 9, 2015. Nenana is the first checkpoint in the 2015 Iditarod and is about 60 river miles from the start in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Iditarod is a nearly 1,000-mile race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska.
Seppala ran the last leg of the serum journey. Iditarod is a small town in the state's interior, taken from the Eskimo word Haiditarod, meaning a far, distant place. Gold was discovered in a creek near the town in 1908, and the great Alaska gold rush was on.