In the light of the observations of Goldblatt1that partial ischemia of the kidneys produced hypertension in experimental animals, many clinical and pathologic observations have been made illustrative of a variety of conditions in which renal ischemia occurs in association with elevation of blood pressure. Atheroma at or near the aortic orifice of the main renal vessels appears to be one of the most frequent;2pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis and a variety of urologic conditions involving urinary obstruction have been described.3 The observation of marked ptosis of the kidneys of a woman who had exhibited what was taken to be a benign essential hypertension for a number of years and who entered a malignant phase of the disease with eclamptic phenomena and evidence of cerebral and neuroretinal edema raised the question as to whether the ptosis, by increasing ischemia of the kidneys, might have been responsible for the transformation