Biopsy of the Kidney in the Diagnosis and Management of Renal Disease

Abstract

THE difficulty in making an exact diagnosis of renal disease during life has been pointed out by many clinicians. In the words of the late Dr. Henry A. Christian, "It is not possible to diagnose accurately during life the anatomical changes that will be found in the kidney after death." This clinical failing has been a problem since the days of Richard Bright, for percutaneous biopsy of the kidney has always been considered to be too dangerous. As far as we know, Jungmann¹ was the first clinician to report an exact pathological diagnosis on kidney tissue taken by biopsy during . . .