Horseshoe Kidney
Horseshoe Kidney is a developmental abnormality caused by the fusion of the embryonic kidney material across the midline - so it’s shaped like a horseshoe. The kidneys originally begin forming down in the pelvis, and as they progress they move upwards until they occupy the normal position underneath the diaphragm. As with all other developing tissues, the embryonic changes are complicated and can give rise to a number of abnormalities. Besides fusing across the midline to produce the horseshoe-shaped kidney, sometimes one or both kidneys may fail to migrate upwards and remain in the pelvis, sometimes one may fail to develop producing congenital absence of a kidney, and sometimes there may be more than one ureter draining from the kidney. While any of these abnormalities may never be discovered, they may predispose to obstruction or recurrent urinary tract infections.
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