The Renal Excretion of Lipoid Soluble Substances as Exemplified by the Excretion of Ethanol

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Abstract
The present communication deals with the excretion pattern of ethanol, an organic substance for which the kidney is a very poor organ of excretion. The purpose of testing this substance was to see whether the general laws relating chemical constitution and ability to penetrate cellular membranes, as formulated by Collanderand Bärlund, are applicable to the renal tubular cells. The findings were in accordance with that general rule. Contrary to what is usually found for passively transferred substances with higher clearances, the U/P‐ratio's were found to be lowest at low rates or urine flow. The U/P‐ratio's varied between 0.9—1.1 over a wide range of rates of urine flow. Further, it was shown that for ethanol the renal papilla only very slowly attains equilibrium with the arterial plasma and as ethanol in the final urine is probably in equilibrium with the interstitial tissue of the papilla this fact stresses the absolute necessity of maintaining a constant concentration of ethanol in the arterial blood in experiments on the renal treatment of this substance. Where easily diffusible substances are concerned the renal papilla behaves to some extent as an autonomous part of the kidney.

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