Morphologic evidence to support the role of tubular leakage as a cause of anuria induced by meercury poisoning.

The qualitative Hanssen technic was used to study the mechanism of anuria produced in rabbits by mercury poisoning. Twenty-four to 30 hours after intravenous injection of a low dose of HgCl(2), the animals were almost completely anuric. Sodium ferrocyanide injected intravenously was visualized as Prussian blue in essentially all glomeruli in anuric kidneys, and the amount of the dye in the glomerular tufts was almost the same as in control kidneys. Thus there was no evidence for a severe reduction in glomerular capillary blood flow. Besides, the distribution of Prussian blue in tubular lumina indicated that the anuria occurred in the presence of a significant glomerular filtration. Tubular walls of the anuric kidneys showed an abnormally increased permeability to sodium ferrocyanide. These findings suggested that the anuria during this stage was caused more by tubular leakage than by intrarenal vasoconstriction and subsequent cessation of glomerular filtration.