xm, A,6 Concepcion: Analysis of Normal Filipino Urine 351 



in the urine was increased; this is due to the increased destruc- 

 tion of tissues during pyrexia. The experiments of Myers and 

 Volovic(l4) on rabbits have confirmed Leathes' observation, and 

 have shov^^n also that the output of creatinine was increased 

 whether the pyrexia was caused by infection or by confining the 

 animal in a hot atmosphere (39° to 40° C.)- Young (15) made 

 a number of creatinine determinations, both in hot weather and 

 in the cooler seasons, on Europeans living in the tropics, and 

 found that the daily averages range from 0.47 to 0.11 gram of 

 creatinine nitrogen or from 1.26 to 1.91 grams of creatinine. 

 My results corroborate the conclusion of Young that in the 

 tropics there is no evidence of a greater creatinine output. 



Shaffer (24) has found that the amount of creatinine excreted 

 in adults is proportional to the body weight and is about 7 to 

 11 milligrams of creatinine nitrogen per kilogram. This is 

 called the "creatinine coefficient." Although the chief factor 

 determining the amount of creatinine elimination is the weight 

 of the individual, the proportion between the body weight and 

 the amount of creatinine in the urine is not very constant. Fat 

 or corpulent persons yield less creatinine per unit of body weight 

 than lean ones. The creatinine coefficient for Filipinos was 

 10.4 milligrams, which compares favorably with the standard 

 creatinine coefficient. 



Ammonia. — Ammonia was determined by Folin's original 

 method. (16) The amount of ammonia nonnally present in the 

 urine is about 0.7 gram a day. The amount and the relative 

 proportion it makes of the total nitrogen of the urine is increased 

 by the ingestion of mineral acids. It has been shovTn by several 

 investigators that ammonia is an indicator of acid formation, 

 that it is not due to physiologic disturbance of urea fonnation, 

 that its sole function is the neutralization of acid bodies, and 

 that it ceases to be formed in the presence of fixed alkali. 

 Folin(i7) found that. 



With pronounced diminution in the protein metabolism there is usually, 

 but not always, and therefore not necessarily, a decrease in the absolute 

 quantity of ammonia eliminated. A pronounced reduction of the total 

 nitrogen is, however, always accompanied by a relative increase in am- 

 monia nitrogen provided that the food is not such as to yield alkaline ash. 



The average ammonia output in the whole Filipino series of 

 213 observations was 0.641 gram per day- The average of 54 

 observations among the students was 0.685 gram, and the 

 average for 159 deteiTninations in the case of prisoners, labor- 

 atory helpers, and hospital servants was 0.598 gram. 



