Light and electron microscopic examination of the single kidney of unilateral nephrectomized rats during pregnancy

The light microscopic and ultrastructural changes observed in the single kidney of pregnant rats were detected during mid-term pregnancy and after parturition and the results were compared with those of the pure nephrectomized group. The experimental studies were performed on 24 female virgin rats and all of them were subjected to unilateral nephrectomy. No pathology was observed in the light microscopic examination of the kidneys of the groups. In the transmission electron microscopic examination, in the pure nephrectomized group, cell swellings were present in the endothelial cells of the interlobular arteries and arterioles. Additionally, a mild cell swelling was seen in the cytoplasm of a few of the mesangial cells. In the mid-term pregnancy group, a mild cell swelling was observed in the cytoplasm of the podocytes and more prominent cell swellings were seen in the endothelial cells of the interlobular arteries and arterioles. These more prominent cell swellings were also present in some of the mesangial cells. In the post-parturition group, in addition to these findings, focal thickenings were observed in the glomerular basement membranes.