Abstract
Smoking is a major public health concern worldwide. The toxic components of cigarettes, such as nicotine, can cause abuse, dependence, and tissue damage. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exposure to cigarette smoke on the renal morphology of Wistar rats. For this purpose, 12 male rats were used, divided into two groups (n = 6): CT Group (control) and CG Group (cigarette). The CG Group was exposed to smoke from six cigarettes per day. After 12 weeks, the rats were euthanized, and the kidneys were collected, weighed, and processed histologically for renal tissue analysis. Although the increase in renal weight was not statistically significant (p = 0.479), the CG Group exhibited significantly reduced values for glomerular diameter, capsular area (p < 0.0001), subcapsular area (p = 0.0045), and glomerular tuft area (p = 0.0049) compared to the CT Group. These results indicate that cigarette smoke exposure induces morphological changes in renal structure, even in the absence of significant weight alteration.