192 The Philippine Journal of Science 1916 



the present case is reported, especially since the rest of the 

 urogenital tract seemed to be apparently normal, differing in 

 this respect from many of the cases so far recorded. 



Whereas up to date some three hundred cases of unilateral 

 absence of kidneys have been reported, a careful search otf 

 the literature on hand shows only the following men reporting 

 instances of bilateral renal absences. 



Gerard (4) cites Moulon, Beclard, Meyer de Bonn, Chausier, 

 Pignee, and Dubierre as having reported cases of congenital 

 absence of both kidneys. In the case of Moulon, a girl about 

 fourteen years of age, both kidneys and ureters were absent, 

 while the umbilicus opened in the region of the mons veneris 

 and constantly exuded a liquid resembling urine. Ahlfeld,(i) 

 English, (3) Hauch,(6) Rud Bayer, (7) and Zaufal(9) also re- 

 ported cases of bilateral renal absence. Greenfield (5) de- 

 scribes two cases of a similar defect, in one of which the vas 

 depreus and the testicles also were absent. Schaffaer(8) 

 mentions the case of a 7-month-old human foetus without 

 any traces of kidneys, and Coen,(2) according to Ballowitz, 

 in a study of thirty-three monstrosities, found fifteen cases of 

 total absence of kidneys, in which the adrenals were larger than 

 normal. 



There are probably more cases reported than those men- 

 tioned, but with the literature available it has been impossible 

 for us to add any more or even to verify some of the above 

 reports. 



MATERIAL USED 



The present specimen was obtained while on a trip to the 

 slaughterhouse of the city to inject kidneys of pig embryos. 

 The case is a female pig embryo, 140 millimeters long, from 

 a litter of five apparently perfectly normal specimens of ap- 

 proximately equal size. 



ANATOMY AND HISTOLOGY 



In external appearance and on careful examination of the 

 thoracic and abdominal cavities, this specimen appears normal. 

 Our attention was called to the absence of the kidneys only 

 after looking in vain for them to make our injection. The 

 genitalia also appear normal ; the ovaries measure 5.5 by 3 by 3 

 millimeters. The oviducts and uterus are in every respect iden- 

 tical with those of pigs of the same size. 



In the urinary apparatus the bladder is well developed, 

 measuring 12 by 4 by 4 millimeters and ending in a well-formed 



