Unilateral Renal Agenesis in Two Siblings

The occurrence of unilateral renal agenesis in two siblings is reported. This anomaly is often silent, and its clinical recognition most frequently results from an incidental examination during the course of an illness, as in Case 2. The importance of recognizing the presence of one kidney before operating upon it is obvious: there are records of fatalities resulting from operations unwittingly performed on the solitary kidney. There is no proof that patients having a solitary kidney have a shorter life expectancy than average. The etiology of renal agenesis is suggested. In many instances there are anomalies of other parts of the body. In a few cases it is recognized that genetic factors are responsible.