Scanning electron microscopic observations on glomeruli: its use in thermally injured patients with renal impairment.

Previous scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies have suggested that morphological changes occur in the glomeruli of animals with experimental acute renal failure (ARF). No SEM studies have been reported on human glomeruli in ARF. Sixteen thermally injured patients were studied by SEM and the observations were correlated with the light microscopic findings and clinical data. The group studied contained patients with normal renal function as well as patients with varying degrees of renal impairment, including ARF. The findings failed to demonstrate specific morphological alterations associated with ARF in the human.