History
Bilateral renal agenesis (BRA) was first recognized as a defect of human fetal development in 1671 by Wolfstrigel.
In 1946, Edith Potter (b.1901 - d.1993) described a series of 20 cases with absent kidneys, noting the characteristic appearance of the head and lungs. Up until this time, the condition itself was considered to be extremely rare. However, in part to Potter's work, it has come to light that the condition presents far more frequently than previously reported. Potter analyzed approximately 5000 autopsy cases performed on fetuses and newborn infants over a period of ten years and found that 20 of these infants presented with BRA, all of which had distinctive facial characteristics. These facial characteristics have subsequently been termed as being known as Potter facies. From her analysis, she was able to deduce the sequence of events that leads to what is now known as Potter sequence.
Potter went on to become a pioneer in the field of human renal development and her contributions are still employed and appreciated by clinicians and researchers to this day.
Read more about this topic: Potter Sequence
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“History does nothing; it does not possess immense riches, it does not fight battles. It is men, real, living, who do all this.... It is not “history” which uses men as a means of achieving—as if it were an individual person—its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“Like their personal lives, women’s history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and the demands of others.”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)
“My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)