Historical milestones in renal pathology

The history of renal pathology can be divided into two eras: one starting with the invention of the microscope and its application to renal tissue; the second with the introduction of the renal biopsy, which coincided with the development of electron microscopy and immunofluorescence microscopy that allowed the analysis of pathological changes in great detail with an eye for pathogenesis and pathophysiology. These two eras started in 1650 and 1950, respectively; an interval of no less than three centuries during which clinicians and pathologists struggled with a lack of clear understanding of the causes and evolution of renal disease. In concordance with the design of this series on the history of pathology, we focus primarily on the history of renal pathology before 1970.