XX. 



THE URINE. 



MANY hundred microscopic examinations of urine, made by 

 the authority of the attending physicians of the patients, 

 and further corroborated by post-mortem examinations, have 

 enabled me to reach a certain degree of positiveness in the diag- 

 nosis of the diseases of the genito-urinary tract. As perfection 

 in any department is reached only after a great deal of practice, 

 the microscopic analysis of the urine also requires a thorough 

 study, which, however, is greatly facilitated by the guidance of a 

 reliable and experienced teacher. 



I have published a part of the results of my examinations of 

 the urine with the microscope, in previous years.* In my con- 

 viction, it is in vain to study the sediments of urine without a 

 thorough knowledge of the minute anatomy of the kidney s, 

 and in vain will any one endeavor to understand the kidneys 

 without being thoroughly acquainted with their constituent 

 tissues connective tissue, blood-vessels, nerves, epithelia. The 

 knowledge of the structure of the kidney involves the knowledge 

 of the whole histology. 



Normal Urine. Normal urine is a yellowish, transparent liq- 

 uid, of a peculiar odor, slightly acid, neutral, or slightly alkaline. 

 The reaction depends greatly upon the food or medicines taken, 



* "The Aid which Medical Diagnosis receives from Recent Discoveries in 

 Microscopy." Archives of Medicine, February, 1879. " Diagnosis of Vagi- 

 nitis and Metritis, by Microscopic Examination of Urine." " Transact, of the 

 New-York Patholog. Society." The Medical Record, July, 1880. 



