ABSTRACT
Horseshoe kidney is the most common congenital fusion anomaly seen in the genitourinary system. It ‘was described for the first time in 1522 by Berengario da Carpi [not by Vesalius (1514–1564) as others have stated] in the Isagogue, and the translation made by Jackson in 1660 reads:
I myself also in the year of 1521 in our exercise at Bononia, saw in one publiquely Anatomised, … in that individual the Kidneys were continued, as if it were one kidney; and it had two Veins, and two Emulgent arteries, and two Uritidian pores with only one Pannicle involving, which did take up the wonted places of the Kidneys, and also the middle part of the Back.
The condition was illustrated for the first time by Leonardo Botallo in 1564’’ (Figure 1). Horseshoe kidney recognition is important because the kidney is more prone to trauma, urinary stasis, stone formation and obstruction with this condition (Figure 2). The earliest illustration of horseshoe kidney. (From Botallo: <italic>Commentation Duo,</italic> Lugduni, 1565.) Reprinted from <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref43_1"> <italic>The History of Urology by</italic> Murphy (1972)</xref>’. Courtesy of Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Springfield, IL https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003076568/34c29fd5-5662-4e8f-b58c-badd7fa5d724/content/fig43_1_B.jpg"/> Nephrotomogram of horseshoe kidney. Case courtesy of Dr M. Severson, University of Maryland https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003076568/34c29fd5-5662-4e8f-b58c-badd7fa5d724/content/fig43_2_B.jpg"/>