New methods to investigate the intrarenal distribution of blood flow and tubular fluid flow dynamics

Renal functional imaging has greatly advanced thanks to new imaging techniques. The elucidation of physiopathological mechanisms in diseases such as renovascular disease, ischemic nephropathy and hypertension may be facilitated by the detection of changes in the total and intrarenal distribution of renal blood flow as well as tubular fluid flow. This review discusses the techniques available to measure these renal function characteristics non-invasively, mainly using electron beam computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.