380 



HERMAN O. MOSENTHAL 



Criterion 



Normal 

 Standard. 



Nocturnal polyuria usually 400 c.c. 



or less. 

 In some 

 individuals 

 as high as 

 750 c.c. 



Sodium chlorid 

 excretion. 



Nitrogen excretion 



Significance. 



pensates for the lack of power to con- 

 centrate. 



A high night urine means that the 

 kidney is putting forth a greater ef- 

 fort than it normally should. This 

 overstrain may cause fatigue, that 

 is, functional damage, if continued 

 indefinitely. In nephritis, the in- 

 creased night urine may be reduced 

 by curtailing the salt and protein in- 

 take. By testing the ambulant pa- 

 tient while on his normal diet we are 

 in a position to judge as to the effect 

 the customary food and habits have 

 upon the volume of night urine and 

 to advise the patient intelligently as 

 to the modification of the diet. The 

 chemical examinations of the urine 

 and blood tell us in what respects the 

 food intake should be changed. 

 This is being taken in greateramounts 

 than necessary if more than 5 grams 

 are present in the twenty-four 

 hour urinary specimen. The amount 

 in the food should be reduced if 

 therapeutic indications demand it. 

 If the amount in the urine is very low 

 and edema exists, then the elimina- 

 tion of salt is insufficient and the 

 amount in the urine cannot be re- 

 garded as an index of the quantity 

 in the food. 



If 5 or 6 grams are eliminated in the 

 urine (or double the amount of 

 urea), there is sufficient protein in 

 the food to maintain an individual's 

 health and strength, provided the diet 

 contains a considerable amount of 

 starch. Unless the disease is of such 

 a nature as to demand the restriction 

 of protein food it is not necessary to 

 limit the protein ration. 



