With this spectrum of vascular consequences observed in association with an acute ischemic insult (Figure 2), an earlier suggestion was made that the term ATN should be exchanged for the term vasomotor nephropathy. However, renal vasodilators, which return renal blood flow to normal in experimental ARF animal models and humans with established ARF, have not been shown to increase GFR. Thus, in recent years the search for the mechanisms mediating ARF has focused primarily on the renal tubule.