126 GLANDS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE 



diet in small but gradually increasing amounts un- 

 til glycosuria occurs. Fats are added in small 

 amounts during the time of addition of carbohy- 

 drates and proteins. Frequent urine examinations 

 are made, either by the medical attendant or by the 

 patient himself 1 and the diet regulated accord- 

 ingly. 



1 Some Fehling's-Benedict solution, which is blue in color, is 

 heated in a test tube until it boils, and an equal volume of the 

 urine under examination is added. The mixture is heated for a 

 minute or two. If sugar is present, a red precipitate will make 

 its appearance, and the amount of precipitate will give some 

 rough idea of the amount of sugar present. A modification of 

 this method lends itself to a fairly exact quantitative estimation. 



The more recent work on the subject has centered itself as much 

 in determining the quantity of sugar in the blood as in that of 

 the urine, and much ingenuity has been expended to devise 

 methods that are refined enough when dealing with quantities of 

 blood even as small as a drop or two the amount obtained from 

 a prick in a finger. The blood being not only the medium by 

 which materials are taken in by the body, but also that by which 

 they are given out, it need cause little surprise that blood 

 analyses should throw much light on what takes place in the 

 body. 



