Renal dysplasia produced by obstructive uropathy in the fetal lamb.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to investigate the renal changes associated with obstruction of the urinary tract in the fetal lamb early in gestation (50 days). It was also undertaken to determine if urinary tract obstruction proximal or distal to the urinary bladder would result in varying renal morphology.


METHODS
Timed-gestation ewes at 50-days gestation were anaesthetised, and the lambs exposed. Males had their urethra and urachus ligated with a fine silastic tubing. Females had one ureter ligated with the same tubing. They were delivered at term and sacrificed. The kidneys were weighed, measured and processed for histological examination.


RESULTS
Three lambs (2 males and 1 female) survived. All 5 kidneys were small (2.2+/-0.4g, normal 17.3+/-1.3g), and had lost their normal architecture. Microscopically, these kidneys had few glomeruli, a relative abundance of stroma with apparent nodular collections of tubules surrounded in some instances by a cuff of fibrous stromal tissue.


CONCLUSIONS
The morphologic features produced by urinary tract obstruction at 50-days gestation in the lamb resembled those normally associated with human cystic renal dysplasia. The site of the obstruction had no effect on the development of subsequent renal pathology.
Pringle
Kevin C
KC
Department of Surgery and Anaesthesia, Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 7343, Wellington South, New Zealand. kpringle@wnmeds.ac.nz
Zuccollo
Jane
J
Kitagawa
Hiroaki
H
Koike
Junki
J
Delahunt
Brett
B
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012756:Sheep; D014517:Ureteral Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D014524:Urethral Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology