Compensatory renal growth in human fetuses with unilateral renal agenesis.
To determine whether compensatory growth of the kidney occurs during fetal life we studied 20 human specimens with a unilateral kidney as an isolated defect. The mean combined kidney weight to body weight ratio x 100 in controls was 0.76 +/- 0.14 (SD) and in the solitary kidney cases (after doubling the kidney weight) was 1.26 +/- 0.35 (SD). This significant increase leads us to hypothesize that the increased weight may be due to an induced negative feedback system involving a renotropic factor. From histologic studies a uniform increase in all nephron elements was found. Why should a fetus with adequate placental clearance of metabolic wastes need increased renal size?
Hartshorne
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N
Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
Shepard
T
T
Barr
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M
D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000196:embryology*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012727:Sex Characteristics