ALBUMINOUS UEINE. 41 



Hamon finds (1) that activity of the voluntary muscles causes 

 . an increase of the albumen in the urine, proportionate to the 

 degree of exertion. (2.) Digestion also increases the amount 

 of the albumen in proportion to the indigestibility of the 

 food. (3.) Purgatives increase the albumen according as 

 they excite the intestinal peristalsis. (4.) Diuretics do not 

 aggravate, rather diminish, albuminuria. (5.) Emetics cause 

 mostly an increase, sometimes a diminution, of the excretion 

 of albumen. (6.) Attacks of dyspnoea aggravate the renal 

 disorder. The author's general conclusions are the follow- 

 ing : " Albuminuria is not a primary renal disease, for there 

 is albuminuria without pre-existing renal disease, and albu- 

 men often disappears from the urine while the renal disease 

 persists. Albuminuria is a sign of cerebro-spinal affection, 

 and can be produced by directly acting on the nervous 

 system, or by diseases of the same/'* 



Albuminuria is therefore, as a rule, symptomatic of other 

 diseases. There are cases, however, which justify our speak- 

 ing of one form as essentially idiopathic. Mr Percivall's 

 remarks on the disease can be very appropriately quoted here. 

 He says : 



"To this subject my attention was first drawn in December, 

 1838. An officer's charger, six years old, thoroughbred, who, 

 before he came into the possession of his present owner, had 

 been much used, and had obtained a good character as a 

 hunter, exhibited some rather strange symptoms, respecting 

 which my first impression was, that he might have sprained 

 his loins under too heavy weight in the riding-school. With 

 a view of shedding some additional light upon his case, I 

 desired that some of his urine might be caught; and this cir- 

 cumstance it was that at once unravelled the nature of the 

 disease of which he was the subject. The urine proved to be 

 * Year-Book of Medicine, Surgery, &c. London, 1862. 



