All issues > Volume 34(8); 1991

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1991;34(8):1045-1056. Published online August 31, 1991.

Morphological study on the development of human fetal kidney.

Hee Young Shin¹, Kwang Wook Ko¹, Je Geun Chi²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Received: July 26, 1991;  Accepted: July 26, 1991.

Abstract

A total of 293 human fetal kidneys, including those of 42 embryos are studied for the elucidation of temporal development of the kidney. These specimens were interpreted as normal by thorough postmortem examinations. The age of the specimens was determined by developmental horizon criteria in embryos and by correlating crown-rump length in fetuses. Embryos were embedded in toto, cut in various planes and reconstructed after serial sections were made. Crown-rump length, body weight, kidney weight and number of lobules were applied for establishing parameters of microscopic findings such as cortical thickness, size of the glomerulus and presence or absence of nephrogenic zone. By utilizing these data one could establish the index of maturity of the kidney development in the fetus. The kidney development could be summarized as follows: Histological characteristics of the mesonephros and metanephros were delineated in time sequence in embryos and morphological characteristics of the fetal kidneys were noted by 4 week interval. Cortical thickness correlated linearly with gestational age until 32-week of gestation and absence of nephrogenic zone could be considered as an index of maturity in the latter part of gestation. Number of lobules and the size of the glomeruli correlated poorly with gestational age.

Keywords :Kidney;Renal development;Morphology;Embryo;Fetus