title: The diagnostic potential of fetal renal biopsy.
abstract: The feasibility of fetal renal biopsy has been investigated in order to assess the diagnostic value of the histological specimen. Two fetuses with a severe bilateral renal abnormality (multicystic dysplastic kidney, Meckel-Gruber syndrome with polycystic kidney) and one fetus with Down syndrome (no detectable structural anomaly) were sampled. Histological findings in the biopsy specimens of cases 1 and 2 were diagnostic of an early obstructive renal disease. In case 3, the findings were consistent with normal development for gestational age of the kidney. Fetal renal biopsy is technically feasible; histological examination of the samples showed a good correlation with postnatal findings. Further studies of its diagnostic value are required.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Patologia Ostetrica e Ginecologica R, Università di Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Loverro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clemente
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selvaggi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results