Bilateral renal agenesis.

Abstract

Bilateral congenital absence of the kidneys is a fairly uncommon developmental anomaly, with only 168 cases being reported in the literature since Everhard¹reported his first case, in 1633. According to Hinman's²review of 135 cases in 1940, in only 11 of these cases was the defect unassociated with other malformations. In all other instances, the association of renal agenesis with other developmental abnormalities, particularly involving the lower extremity, was quite striking. Since his review, only 53 other cases have been recorded, and, of these, only 3 by Nation,³1 by Grim⁴and possibly the one by Soloway₅show no other gross abnormalities. It must be remembered that the true number of cases of bilateral renal agenesis may be much less, since in a great many instances a careful gross and microscopic search for renal tissue was not made, because only comparatively recently have microscopic