Effects of ureteral obstruction on renal cortical blood flow.

Changes in cortical blood flow were measured simultaneously with radioactive microspheres and the xenon-133 washout method in 6 dogs after 24 h of unilateral complete ureteral obstruction and in 6 dogs after 90 min of unilateral ischemia and compared with the blood flow in the contralateral kidney. Predominant reduction in cortical blood flow after 24 h of ureteral obstruction is accompanied by severe differences in the perfusion pattern of different areas in the renal cortex, thus that some areas have almost no detectable blood flow. This finding supports the thesis of renal ischemia causing at least cortical hydronephrotic atrophy.