A comparison of nephron number, glomerular volume and kidney weight in Senegalese Africans and African Americans

Background. Low nephron number is determined in utero and is a proposed risk for essential hypertension. Glomerular volume is inversely correlated with nephron number, and genetic and environmental factors that determine nephron number are thought to determine glomerular volume. This study compared total glomerular (nephron) number (Nglom), mean glomerular volume (Vglom) and kidney weight in two geographically separated black populations with significant common genetic ancestry

Renal pathology, glomerular number and volume in a West African urban community

Background. Low glomerular number and large glomerular volume are hypothesized to be risk factors for hypertensive renal disease in adult life. Reports of human glomerular number are based on studies from developed nations and have found single kidney mean values of ∼900 000 per kidney with a roughly 8-fold range matched by a similar range in glomerular volume. Glomerular number and volume have never been investigated in people from a developing country