[Scanning electron microscopy of the kidney glomerulus during development]

Consecutive stages of renal glomerulogenesis were studied in white rats using scanning electron microscopy of microvessel corrosion casts and specimens dried through critical point. The splitting of ingrowing capillaries was shown to be the leading mechanism of glomerulogenesis. The differentiation of endothelial and epithelial components of glomerular filter involves two main processes: progressive spreading and arborization of cells. A suggestion is put forward that the growth and spatial reorganization of cytoskeletal elements in the endothelial and epithelial cells are the basic mechanisms of their differentiation during glomerulogenesis.