CURRENT MEDICAL LITERATURE ABSTRACTS

Hypertension Associated with Unilateral Renal Disease. By Nesbit,R.M. and Ratliff, R.K., J.A.M.A. 116:194; 1941.Goldblatt’s demonstration that renal ischemia produced by partial occlusion of thesystemic arterial pressure in experimental animals has profoundly influenced ourconception of clinical hypertension. One of the fruitful results is that in somepatients formerly described as having essential hypertension, gross lesions in one ortwo kidneys have been demonstrated to be the cause of hypertension. When thegross renal disease is unilateral and the opposite kidney is normal in function, surgicalremoval of the diseased kidney may result in a return of blood pressure to normal.Nesbit and Ratliff reported cases of unilateral hydronephrosis and of unilateralpyelonephritis in which removal of the diseased kidneys resulted in a restoration of