Glomerulocystic kidney. A hypothesis of origin and pathogenesis

Glomerulocystic kidney, a disease primarily of infants, is characterized by dilation of Bowman's space. We describe an infant whose mother had regularly taken phenacetin during the latter half of her pregnancy. This history, with the renal morphologic features of our patient and those described in the literature, suggests that medullary obstruction contributes to the pathogenesis of this lesion.