Role of the Renal Innervation in Kidney Function

Abstract

OBSERVATIONS have been made on the role of the renal innervation in kidney function. A dog's kidney was transplanted to the inguinal region by end-to-end anastomosis of the renal vessels to the femoral; the bladder and distal ureteral orifices were exteriorized. Convalescence was uneventful and both kidneys gave every tested physiological evidence of normal function. During antidiuretic, that is, normal, urine flows, the rate of urine flow and of glomerular filtration is greater in the transplanted kidney than in the untransplanted kidney of the same animal. Following administration of a large quantity of water or of a small dose of adrenalin, the above differences become strikingly reversed; this strongly suggests that the transplanted kidney has continued to be effectively denervated. It was demonstrated that phenol red, water and chloride secretion are practically identical in both kidneys per unit volume of glomerular filtrate. Cogent evidence is presented indicating that adrenalin normally acts indirectly on the vas efferens of the glomerular vascular tufts, that is, only by way of the renal nerve supply, and that “pituitrin” acts directly on the tubules. The work will shortly be published in full.