Congenital Cysts of the Renal Medulla

Polycystic disease of the kidneys is often considered to be two different diseases, one appearing in the first year of life and the second having its onset in the fourth through sixth decades. It seems more likely, however, that these represent the two ends of the age spectrum of a single disease, renal tubular dysgenesis. The age at which the patient first becomes ill would seem to reflect the degree to which the kidneys are affected. In this paper we present a child with an unusual form of the disease, consisting of cysts confined to the medulla, appearing clinically as intractable anemia, and terminating in death in the second decade. The first symptoms were those of anemia, and the first evidence of renal disease was the report of abnormal findings from the laboratory. Report of Case A 14-year-old boy was considered to be well until six months prior to his