COMPENSATORY RENAL GROWTH POST FETAL NEPHRECTOMY IN THE RABBIT

Compensatory renal growth post-nephrectomy is well documented both cli nically and experimentally. However, little is known about the capacit y for compensatory growth in utero. We performed unilateral nephrectom y in fetal rabbits and studied the growth of the contralateral kidney. Thirty fetal rabbits underwent in utero uninephrectomies at day 25 of gestation. On gestational day 28, all the fetuses were delivered by c esarean section and the ratios kidney weight/body weight of the operat ed fetuses were compared to those of control littermates. The kidneys were then analysed by histology. A significant increase in renal weigh t was observed. The histological study of the remaining kidneys indica ted a statistically significant increase of the glomerular area which confirmed the renal hypertrophy. This experiment demonstrates the capa city for the rabbit to develop in utero compensatory renal growth.