Abstract
Summary
The normal number of glo-meruli per kidney in the rat rises from about 104 at birth to approximately 35 × 103 at 50 days of age. When one kidney is removed at birth the remaining one produces an average of 63 % more nephrons than normal by 70 days. Unilateral nephrectomy of successively older rats results in progressively less augmentation of the nephron complement in the remaining kidney up to 50 days, beyond which age the kidney loses its ability to produce new nephrons.
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