1985 Volume 76 Issue 7 Pages 974-984
A review of 136 patients with various vertebral anomalies, such as spinal dysraphism, Klippel-Feil syndrome, congenital scoliosis and sacral dysgenesis, revealed an incidence of coexisting urogenital anomalies at a rate of 23%. Klippel-Feil syndrome and sacral dysgenesis showed the highest incidence. Anomalies observed most frequently were ectopic and/or fused kidney (11 cases), followed by cryptorchidism (9), duplex kidney (6), and unilateral renal agenesis (3). As to non-urogenital anomalies, anorectal (14) and cardiovascular lesions (5) were observed frequently.
Incidence and embryogenesis of vertebral and urogenital anomalies were reviewed. Statistical studies of 155 cases of crossed renal ectopia reported in Japan were also performed. The etiology of crossed renal ectopia remains obscure but ureteral and vertebral anomalies do appear frequently. although abnormal development of the ureteral bud seems to be a more reasonable explanation, it is suggested that vertebral defect with rotational deformity of the fetus may also contribute to the genesis. High incidence and variety of urogenital anomalies in sacral dysgenesis seems to be explicable by the close relation of the ureteral budding zone and sacral segment in the early fetal life (4 to 5 weeks).
It is important to recognize that the incidence of urogenital anomalies has been found to be much higher than that reported by urologists in their autopsy studies. Considering the life-threatening aspects in some of these, it is highly recommended to scrutinize them by intravenous urography when vertebral anomalies are suspected.
