WATER 117 



The composition of the urine provides 

 another excellent illustration of the utility 

 of the solvent power of water. In the course 

 of its complex chemical processes a higher 

 organism produces a host of end products 

 which must be removed, and also finds itself 

 accidentally in possession of a great variety 

 of other useless substances which require 

 excretion. The solvent power of water is 

 one of the great factors in facilitating this 

 task. Human urine has been reported to 

 contain in solution the following substances: 

 urea, carbamic acid, creatinine, creatine, 

 uric acid, xanthine, guanine, hypoxanthine, 

 adenine, paraxanthine, heteroxanthine, epi- 

 sarkine, epiguanine, oxalic acid, allantoine, 

 hippuric acid, phenaceturic acid, benzoic acid, 

 phenolsulphuric acid, skatoxylsulphuric acid, 

 paraoxyphenylacetic acid, homogentisic acid, 

 urobiline, urochrome, uroerythrine, glucose, 

 levulose, lactose, numerous compounds of 

 glycuronic acid, glycine, alanine, leucine, tyro- 

 sine, and other amino-acids, various enzymes, 

 putrescine, cadavarine, and countless other 

 organic substances, chlorides, bromides, and 

 iodides, phosphates and sulphates, potassium, 

 sodium, ammonia, calcium, magnesium, iron, 

 carbonic acid, nitrogen, argon, etc. 



Here again it is sure that such variety could 



