Old age deferred : the causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measures... / by Arnold Lorand... Translated, with additions, by the author from the second German edition.

  • Lorand, Arnold.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Old age deferred : the causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measures... / by Arnold Lorand... Translated, with additions, by the author from the second German edition. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

    105/482 (page 87)
    pering of the most important function of the kidneys. Even when we find only one such cast in one or two specimens, we must not forget that a pint of the urine may contain a very large number, and thus every day large quantities of valuable kidney elements are wasted and one of the most important functions in our body is hindered. Therefore we must not pass by such a condition of things without serious thought for the future of such persons. The length of their lives will largely depend upon their diet, just as in cirrhosis of the liver. If these persons are addicted to an abundant meat diet, their chances of longevity will certainly be smaller than with milk and vegetable food. As we have seen, the liver is constantly dealing with poisons arising from the decomposition of albuminous food, especially meats. The kidneys are destined to eliminate such products from the blood and pass them out with the urine. We will treat of this subject later in a separate chapter. In patients with diseases of the kidneys, the condition of the skin is of the utmost importance, as the skin is our second kidney. Therefore patients with thyroid insufficiency have less chance of a long life if their kidneys are in any way inca- pacitated. Besides the above-named vital organs, there are certain portions of our anatomy which are also of importance in the determination of our chances of life. Take, for example, the nose. In the children of parents with degenerated thyroids there is a great tendency to adenoid vegetations. These are, strictly speaking, not a disease of childhood alone, for often they may be met with in adults, even in middle age. If large they necessi- tate breathing through the mouth instead of through the nose, especially at night. Such children are liable to frequent catarrhs, and what is more serious, to pulmonary troubles. They are also liable to suppurative otitis media and frequent attacks of ton- sillitis. These frequent attacks of tonsillitis may constitute a serious danger, as they may induce an inflammation of the kid- neys. As a rule, in such cases the nephritis passes off in a few