1 88 HYGIENE OF THE KIDNEYS. 



waste matters which would poison the body is their only 

 duty. Except a very little carried off by the skin, they 

 remove all the waste matters containing nitrogen, a 

 great deal of water, nearly all the mineral wastes, and 

 some carbonic acid. 



5. Hygiene of the Kidneys. If both kidneys be cut 

 out of an animal, it dies in a few hours from blood-poison- 

 ing, caused by the wastes which have collected in it. 

 Serious kidney-disease amounts to pretty much the same 

 thing as cutting out the organs, since they are of little 

 use if not healthy. It is always fatal if not checked, and 

 often kills in a short time. The things which most fre- 

 quently cause kidney-disease are undue exposure to cold, 

 and indulgence in alcoholic drinks. 



6. Cold Causes Kidney-Disease partly by driving blood 

 from the surface and congesting the kidneys, partly by 

 throwing too much work on them. When the skin does 

 not get rid of its proper share of the waste matters of 

 the body, it is chiefly the kidneys which have to make up 

 for it. 



Nearly all the infectious diseases which are accom- 

 panied by a rash on the skin, as measles and scarlet fever, 

 also affect the kidneys. During these diseases, the kid- 

 neys are more or less inflamed, and in the early stages of 

 recovery they are still weak and easily injured. Under 

 these circumstances, exposure to cold is very apt to cause 

 incurable kidnev-disease. 



5. What is the consequence of removing the kidneys? Of kidney- 

 disease ? How is serious disease of the kidneys most often produced ? 



6. How does cold injure the kidneys? When have they to do the 

 work of the skin ? What diseases especially affect them ? State of the 

 kidneys during recovery from these diseases? Precautions to be 

 taken ? 



