ABSTRACT
The kidney performs many sophisticated physiological processes and is largely responsible for maintaining the normal physiological balance of an individual. The kidney is a very common toxicologic target organ for pharmaceutical therapeutic agents, chemicals, and environmental toxins and lesions of the urinary tract are frequently encountered in preclinical toxicologic studies. Likely due to similarities in renal anatomy and physiology, the pig is similarly resistant as humans and has been suggested as a better choice of non-rodent species for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other agents with a great potential for inducing papillary necrosis in preclinical toxicology studies. However, urea nitrogen and serum creatinine two renal markers suffer from insensitivity and they are elevated only when over half of renal function is compromised in humans or almost two-thirds of renal function in dogs and other preclinical species. The degree of damage and timing of injury are important factors in whether there will be evidence of alterations in serum biochemical or urine biomarkers.
