[Myoglobinuria and the kidney].

The relationship between myoglobinuria and acute renal failure is analyzed patho-histologically in five autopsy cases of rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. The presence of myoglobin urinary casts was not a common finding, but various tubular damages due to factors other than myoglobin deposition were observed. These findings suggest that in addition to the toxic effect of myoglobin or its derivatives, preexistent or simultaneous renal or extrarenal tissue damages participate in the development of acute renal failure.