The homoeopathic theory and practice of medicine (Volume 2).

  • Marcy, E. E. (Erastus Edgerton), 1815-1900.
Date:
1864
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The homoeopathic theory and practice of medicine (Volume 2). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    creased by all causes which determine rapid metamorphoses of the tissues. Its prolonged retention in the blood gives rise to what is termed urnemic poisoning, to which we shall refer hereafter. For excellent methods of ascertaining the absolute quantity of urea in urines, we refer the reader to -Thudicum's work on the Pathology of the Urine, pp. 52, 67, and 69— Methods of Liebig, Bunsen, and Davy. When the quantity of excreted urea continues above or below the natural standard for any considerable period, disease may be in- ferred. Among the causes which determine its diminution in the urinary secretion are insufficient food, impaired digestion, chronic maladies, anasmic conditions and diseases of the convoluted tubes of the cortex of the kidneys. The principal causes which form the excretion of an excess of urea, are the assimilation of large quantities of nutritious food, the use of stimulants, febrile disorders, and general activity of the circulatory and digestive functions. Uric-acid.—Chemical composition : C10 H4 06 N4 = CXo H2 04 N4 + 2HO. Pure uric-acid, according to Brande, is a soft, white, crys- talline powder; it is insipid and inodorous; it reddens moistened lit- mus paper. It is almost insoluble in cold water (requiring, according to Bensch, from 11,000 to 15,000 parts), but soluble in between 1,800 and 1,900 parts of boiling water; it is insoluble in alcohol and in ether. When it is decomposed by heat it yields carbonate of ammo- nia, hydrocyanic acid, empyreumatic oil, cyanuric acid, urea, and car- bon. It forms 468 in 1000 parts of normal urine, according to Becquerel. The average amount discharged by a healthy man in twenty-four hours is stated by Becquerel to be from 0*49 to 0*56 grammes. The proportions, however, may vary much in different in- dividuals without any impairment of the health—such variations de- pending upon the quantity and quality of food and drink consumed, habits of life, &c. x Uric acid in combination with one or more bases—ammonia, soda, or lime—is one of the most common sediments of the urine. Uric- acid, being insoluble in the blood, can only exist in this fluid in the form of a urate—chiefly urate of soda—and is separated by the kid- neys, passes to the pelvis of the kidneys, to the bladder, and thence out of the body as a urate of soda. But, during the passage of the latter through the urinary organs, portions of it are often decomposed, and uric acid set free by the free phosphoric and lactic acids of the urine. This decomposition may occur in the kidney, in the bladder, or after the emission. In order to ascertain whether the urine holds in solution a urate, we add to it either nitric, acetic, or muriatic acid. If uric acid is speedily precipitated, we infer the presence of a large quantity of the urate ;