A 56-year-old woman with a history of hyperlipidemia and hypeension develops progressive, right renal aery stenosis. Over time, this patient's right kidney is likely to demonstrate which of the following morphologic adaptations to paial ischaemia?

The answer is A: Atrophy. Interference with blood supply to tissues is known as ischemia. Total ischemia results in cell death. Paial ischemia occurs after incomplete occlusion of a blood vessel or in areas of inadequate collateral circulation. This results in a chronically reduced oxygen supply, a condition often compatible with continued cell bility. Under such circumstances, cell atrophy is common. For example, it is frequently seen around the inadequately perfused margins of infarcts in the hea, brain, and kidneys. None of the other choices describe decreased organ size and function.