Figure 2.

A diagrammatic depiction of experiments demonstrating that uterine ischemia in pregnant animals, but not in non-pregnant animals, can cause hypertension. A. In the Goldblatt model of renovascular hypertension, clamping the renal artery leads to development of hypertension through renal ischemia and the release of renin in non-pregnant animals. B. By contrast, clamping the aorta below the renal arteries does not induce hypertension in non-pregnant animals. C. Clamping of the aorta in pregnant animals below the renal arteries leads to hypertension. D. The hypertension disappears after a hysterectomy has been performed; this suggests that the source of the signals leading to maternal systemic hypertension are derived from the gravid uterus. Modified from Chaiworapongsa T. et al. Pre-eclampsia part 1: current understanding of its pathophysiology. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2014 Aug; 10 (8):466-80.