60 
Proceedings of Boyal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
the quantities of urine obtained were large enough, the chemical 
process was undertaken in its entirety for obtaining the acid pure. 
I now chronicle my results : — 
Morphia . — The urine secreted after the exhibition of this drug, 
either by the mouth or subcutaneously, contained a substance, which, 
from its power to reduce Fehling’s solution, has been generally 
regarded as a transient condition of glycosuria, but after a close 
investigation I find it to he due, not to the presence of glucose, but 
of glycuronic acid. 
Chloroform . — I have also satisfied myself that the reducing power 
of the urine, after the administration of this anaesthetic, is dependent 
entirely upon this acid, and is not due to glucose. In this manner 
I have been able to confirm independently the observations of 
Mayer upon morphia and chloroform. 
With chloroform I have, however, found some exceptional 
instances, in which no reducing substance appeared in the urine, 
but these exceptions over a large number of observations were 
undoubtedly rare. 
Curara . — The glycosuria, so called, of curara poisoning has long 
been known, having been first observed by Claude Bernard, but I 
have not succeeded, after an extended series of observations, in 
obtaining any fermentation by yeast of these urines, which appear 
otherwise to be so markedly glycosuric. 
In these instances, however, it was most difficult to obtain large 
enough quantities of urine to complete the whole chemical process, 
since the curara itself interferes so decidedly with the secretion of 
the kidney ; and consequently I have not been able to separate out 
the acid in this group of observations. 
Ether . — As the result of the administration of ether I have never 
found the appearance of this acid or of any reducing substance in 
the urine, and it is therefore a useful anaesthetic for observations 
upon the urinary system. 
Analysis of Urine secreted by the Right and Left Kidney. 
Renal Nerves Intact . — With the view of further investigating the 
significance of this glycuronic acid, I placed cannulse in the ureters, 
in order to collect for analysis the urine so secreted by the two 
kidneys separately. I found that under ordinary conditions the 
