It has a mucous membrane and is covered with transitional epithelium and an underlying lamina propria of loose-to-dense connective tissue.

[1] The renal pelvis is the location of several kinds of kidney cancer and is affected by infection in pyelonephritis.

[citation needed] A large "staghorn" kidney stone may block all or part of the renal pelvis.

The size of the renal pelvis plays a major role in the grading of hydronephrosis.

The renal pelvis is occasionally called the pyelum (from Greek πύελος pýelos, "trough", ‘anything hollow’), and the combining form pyelo- denotes the renal pelvis (pyelo- is not to be confused with pyo-).