Structural and functional development of the nephron

The present review deals with structural and functional relationships during the development of the nephron. Ultrastructural morphometric technique has been used to obtain quantitative data on structural observations in order to make correlations between structure and function possible. The area of the glomerular basement membrane was found to increase by a factor 1.7 when relating the change in glomerular basement surface area to kidney weight. Furthermore it is suggested that a permeability change of the glomerular basement membrane occurs during development and that this change probably is the result of an increased area of endothelial pores and epithelial slits. The increased capacity of different nephron segments to transport Na and fluid is directly correlated to the increase in the area of the basal and lateral cell membranes as well as the amount of Na-K-ATPase. This suggests a significant contribution of these factors to the maturation of solute and fluid transport through the tubular wall.