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Kidney Development: New Insights on Transmission Electron Microscopy

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Book cover Kidney Development in Renal Pathology

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Pathology ((CCPATH))

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Abstract

Electron microscopy has been extensively used in morphological studies of kidney to reveal ultrastructural details beyond the resolving power of the light microscope. Such studies carried out on human adult kidney are performed on autopsy, biopsy, or surgical samples. Because glomeruli usually are better preserved than are kidney tubules during processing for electron microscopy, studies tended to concentrate mainly on glomerular ultrastructure in the mature kidney, adding relatively little information on tubular fine structure. Moreover, the focus of pathologists on glomerular dysfunction during renal disease has resulted in inattention to kidney development, so that little ultrastructural data on nephrogenesis has been adduced. As a result, many questions on this matter remain to be answered. Recently, however, growing interest in renal regeneration has led to the emergence of ultrastructural investigations on mammalian kidney development. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy, together with recent light microscopic insights, are highlighting the morphofunctional events that characterize the early stages of kidney development and new hypotheses are coming forth.

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Acknowledgments

This investigation was supported by the University of Cagliari and by Fondazione Banco Di Sardegna.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Marco Piludu

  2. Department of Surgical Sciences, Division of Pathology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Cristina Mocci, Monica Piras & Giancarlo Senes (Biologist)

  3. Department of Surgical and Morphological Sciences, Laboratory of Human Morphology, Varese, Italy

    Terenzio Congiu

Authors
  1. Marco Piludu
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  2. Cristina Mocci
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  3. Monica Piras
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  4. Giancarlo Senes
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  5. Terenzio Congiu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Piludu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Sciences, Division of Pathology, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria and University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy and Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Gavino Faa

  2. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Puericulture Institute and Neonatal Section, and Department of Surgery, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy and University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy, Cagliari, Italy

    Vassilios Fanos

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Piludu, M., Mocci, C., Piras, M., Senes, G., Congiu, T. (2014). Kidney Development: New Insights on Transmission Electron Microscopy. In: Faa, G., Fanos, V. (eds) Kidney Development in Renal Pathology. Current Clinical Pathology. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0947-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0947-6_4

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0946-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0947-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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