Prenatal ethanol exposure is teratogenic, but the effects of ethanol on kidney development
and the health of offspring are incompletely understood. Our objective was to investigate the
effects of acute ethanol exposure during pregnancy on nephron endowment, mean arterial
pressure, and renal function in offspring. We administered ethanol or saline by gavage to
pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats on embryonic days 13.5 and 14.5. At 1 month of age, the
nephron number was 15% lower and 10% lower in ethanol-exposed males and females …