The Mechanism of Urea Retention in Nephritis

1. Urea retention, in the sense of a relatively increased concentration in the blood, is the result of increased resistance to the excretion of urea through the kidneys. 2. The relatively increased concentration of urea in the blood overcomes the increased resistance to excretion, and the organism is thereby maintained in nitrogenous equilibrium. 3. The laws formulated by Ambard for the excretion of urea apply in the condition of urea retention under a widely varying range of conditions, as to nitrogen intake and excretion. 4. The numerical value of Ambard's constant changes in urea retention, but the relation of the variable factors to one another remains otherwise unchanged. 5. In certain individuals, with otherwise normal findings in regard to urea excretion, an unusual degree of constancy, to which we have applied the term fixation, has been found in the numerical results obtained by the application of Ambard's laws. These individuals are regarded, as the result of this study, as probably abnormal, but the pathological significance of the fixation has not been determined.