1272 



URINE. 



been published by the following observers, 

 viz. Marchand, Simon, Becquerel, Leh- 

 mann, &c. I shall quote several of these 

 from the work of Franz Simon, which has 

 been excellently translated into English by 

 Dr. Day, for the Sydenham Society. 



Simon analysed two specimens of the urine 

 of a healthy man, 33 years of age. He was 

 of sanguineous temperament. The specific 

 gravity was in the first case 1011, and in the 

 second 1012. 



1000 parts yielded 



Water - 



Urea - 



Uric acid 



Alcoholic extractive, 



free lactic acid 

 Spirituous extractive 

 Extractive, soluble in 

 water only, and ves- 

 ical mucus 



Lactate of ammonia 

 Chloride of ammo- 

 nium - 



Chloride of sodium - 

 Sulphate of potassa - 

 Phosphate of soda - 

 Phosphates of lime"! 

 and magnesia - J 

 Silicic acid 



The urine of the same individual was also 

 examined under three varying conditions, as 

 follow: A, on rising in the morning, several 

 glasses of water having been drunk the pre- 

 vious evening ; B, water and some coffee 

 taken, and violent exercise had recourse to 

 during two hours, pulse 100, with occasional 

 intermissions ; C, urine voided half an hour 

 after urine B. These urines were all acid; 

 C most so, and B the least. All three speci- 

 mens were clear, and B the least coloured. 



The following is the result of the analyses : 



The specific gravities of the above speci- 

 mens were respectively 1010, 1008, and 1014. 



Lehmann has analysed the urine collected 

 during 24 hours, from a well-fed and healthy 

 young man. The following three results were 

 thus obtained by him: 



The specific gravities of the urines which 

 yielded these above analyses, judging from the 

 amount of solid content, must have been as 

 high as from 1022 to 1029. This is very 

 high, indeed, as an average of 24 hours. 



The mean composition of urine is stated 

 by Becquerel as follows : 



Simon very properly remarks on the above 

 analyses, that the discrepancies to be ob- 

 served in the composition of the urine, princi- 

 pally depend on the variation in the propor- 

 tion of water ; and that if we consider the pro- 

 portion of each solid constituent to the whole 

 amount of solid matters, the differences will 

 not appear nearly so great. 



The variations caused in the urine by the 

 ingestion of various mineral substances, and 

 of organic compounds taken either as food or 

 medicine, have attracted the attention of 

 several chemists of eminence. Liebig has 

 theorised freely on this subject, and it is but 

 right that what he has published should be 

 copied into this article, if only as part of the 

 history of the urine, while I would warn the 

 reader carefully to separate in his mind the 

 matters of fact from the theoretical part of the 

 subject, inasmuch as a great deal yet remains 

 to be done. The position of the inquiry is 

 indeed at present such, that further advances 

 may very probably lead us to detect the fallacy 

 of theories which, it is to be feared, the pre- 



