Renal diseases remain devastating illnesses with unacceptably high rates of mortality
and morbidity worldwide. Animal models are essential tools to better understand the
pathomechanisms of kidney-related illnesses and to develop new, successful therapeutic
strategies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been actively explored in the last
decades for assessing renal function, perfusion, tissue oxygenation as well as the
degree of fibrosis and inflammation. This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive
overview of animal models of acute and chronic kidney diseases, highlighting MRI-specific
considerations, advantages, and pitfalls, and thus assisting the researcher in experiment
planning.
