DISEASES OF ADULT LIFE. 383 
detected by boiling Heat does not coagulate albumen in 
alkaline urine until it is made acid. <A few drops of nitric acid 
will distinguish the earthy phosphates from the coagulated 
albumen. The former will be dissolved: the latter will 
become more opaque When the quantity of albumen is small, 
proceed as foliows —Let nitric acid trickle down the sides of 
a test-tube containing urine. The acid being heavier will sink 
to the bottom, and the urine will float above. At the junction, 
if albumen is present, there will be an opaque layer, which 
gentle heat will not clear away. Albumen in the urine may 
be due to fatty degeneration of the kidneys. to temporary 
conditions in the renal circulation (capillary turgescence, 
fevers, inflammations), to affections of the mucous membrane 
in urinary tract, and to the mal-assimilation of albuminous 
foods. 
TEST FOR SUGAR. 
The specific gravity is usually high. The follewing is 
Haines’s test :— 
Pure Sulphate of Copper...... Thirty grains. 
Pure Glycerine .,....-...0+++e Iwo fluid drachms. 
Pure Caustic Potash, in sticks .. One and a half drachms. 
ee | S| errr eLs 5 Sey UF » Six fluid ounces, 
Dissolve the copper and the glycerine in a portion of the 
water and the caustic potash in the remainder. Mix the two. 
solutions, when a transparent blue liquid should result. which 
should be bottled and laid aside for use. Take about one 
drachm of the above test solution and boil gently. It should 
give no deposit. Add 19 or 15 drops of urine. If sugar is 
present there should be an abundant red or yellowish red 
-recipitate. A white  flocculent deposit would indicate 
phosphates and not sugar. Bile: Put a little urine in a white 
plate, and add a few drops of nitric acid. <A play of colours 
from violet to green will show the presence of bile. 
SUPPRESSION OF URINE. 
This is caused by a partial or complete failure of the 
kidneys to secrete the urine from the blood. It may be due 
