Abstract
The kidneys play a central role for the emerging pregnancy, reacting and contributing to changes in homeostasis in the woman and fetus. Impaired kidney function during pregnancy is a fairly common and serious complication. Understanding the normal physiology of pregnancy provides the basis for further study of the changes that lead to impaired kidney function, and may provide the key to its better management.
This literature review systematizes information about the physiology and morphology of the kidneys before pregnancy, changes in them during its normal course and in cases of the presence or development of any pathological conditions for various reasons.
Knowledge of the anatomo-functional condition of the kidneys in normal pregnancy, as well as the changes that occur in renal diseases, will provide an opportunity to identify patients at high risk for the development of renal pathology, to define the management of pregnancy and, thereafter, to reduce the risk of maternal morbidity, mortality and perinatal losses.