ON THE RENAL EXCRETION OF UREA

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Abstract
By assuming that at low diuresis the diminution in the urea clearance is due to absorption of urea in the kidney itself, and by giving to this assumption a mathematical expression, it is possible to throw the relation between clearance, C, and diuresis, v, in the form C = A(1[long dash]e-kv), where A is the mean asymptotic value of the clearance as v increases, k a positive constant, and e the base of natural logarithms. The equation is verified by independent observations in man and in the dog, under ordinary diets. A consequence of the equation is the existence of a limiting concn. ratio for urea, as diuresis approaches zero. This limit, A k, which is a measure of the concentrating power of the kidney, is about 3 times larger in the dog than in man. By defining the efficiency of urea excretion as the ratio of the urea supplied the kidney in a given time to the urea put out by the kidney in the same time, it is possible to state that the efficiency at large diuresis equals the ratio of the mean clearance to the mean renal blood flow. The efficiency of urea excretion is of the same order of magnitude in man, dog, and rabbit.

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