NEWER METHODS OF STUDY OF 

 RENAL FUNCTION IN MAN 



BY 



Homer W. Smith, A.B., Sc.D., M.S. 



The physiology of the kidney is so richly charged with 

 both intrinsic interest and far-reaching implications that a 

 speaker in this field possessing, as I do, not only limited time 

 for exposition but limited first-hand experience, must take 

 careful precautions against exceeding either of these limita- 

 tions. In weighing my responsibility as a recipient of this 

 lectureship I have thought that the generosity and intent of 

 its founder could be met by confining my discussion to a few 

 topics, rather than by attempting an extended resume of our 

 knowledge of renal function as a whole. 



This first lecture will deal primarily with the physiologi- 

 cal basis of recently developed methods for examining the 

 normal and diseased kidney. It is a truism that medicine, as 

 all other sciences, moves forward just as rapidly as do its 

 methods, and no apology is needed for devoting so much time 

 to this phase of the subject. The methods to which I will 

 refer are functional methods for measuring the rate of glom- 

 erular filtration, the renal blood flow, and the quantity of in- 

 tact, active glomerular and tubular tissue. The application 

 of these methods in the examination of the action of drugs 

 and physiological agents on renal function will serve as a logi- 

 cal bridge to the subject of the possible role of the kidneys in 

 hypertension, with which the last lecture will be chiefly con- 

 cerned. 



I think it may safely be assumed that you are thoroughly 

 familiar with the basic principles of renal function, but we 



