Cortical blood-flow in the porcine kidney. A radioactive microsphere study

Renal cortical blood-flow distribution was measured by means of radiolabeled microscopheres in eight kidneys from 4 pigs of mixed Yorkshire and Danisk landrace. We found a pronounced intracortical variation in the perfusion pattern of 28 sections of outer cortex. Three consequetive flow determinations with an interval of 45 minutes showed that the heterologous perfusion pattern was plastic, changing between the flow-determinations. In addition, we found a significantly reduced perfusion in the renal poles, compared to the rest of the outer cortex. It is speculated that the reduced polar perfusion is a contributing aetiological factor to the increased incidence of polar scar formation secondary to reflux nephropathy.