Despite intensive research into the structure and function of the mammalian kidney, only a single brief study on the histology of the pig kidney has appeared in the literature. In Chapter 3 of the present work, using 38 pigs of different ages, the basic morphological parameters of the structure of the pig kidney was established. This formed a useful basis for comparison for any future pathological studies in which the pig is used as a model. The kidney specimens used were either perfused with fixative via the renal artery or non-perfused and fixed by immersion. Tissues were then processed for histology, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy; throughout the study, particular emphasis was placed on ultrastructure. The swine kidney was found to be histologically similar to that of other mammals. A most significant finding, however, was the hypercellular mesangium with up to 8, and occasionally as many as 25 contiguous mesangial cells being present within single glomerulus. The ultrastructural studies of some of these pigs showed electron dense deposits mainly in the mesangial and, in a few cases, subendothelial regions. These mesangial changes warranted further investigation and, in Chapter 4 of this work, an ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study of 130 clinically normal pigs from different sources (including the initial group of 38 pigs) was carried out. An unexpectedly high number of kidneys (51.5%) showed immunofluorescence deposits of IgA and, to a lesser extent, IgG and IgM. The vast majority of immunofluorescence positive kidneys also showed electron dense deposits in the mesangium. These results indicated a number of distinct similarities with idiopathic mesangial IgA nephropathy (Berger's disease) in man.
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