Biomaterial Database

Osmotic diuresis before Homer W. Smith: a winding path to renal physiology. 1994

G C Richet

It was towards the end of the 18th century that a curiosity arose about what controlled the flow of urine. It was noted that though a patient's kidneys might be destroyed, the flow of urine continued until death. This puzzling phenomenon might have been understood had Ségalas's and Wöhler's observations been properly appreciated, that an extra load of urea, or any other substance that is excreted by the kidney, causes a diuresis. Nevertheless, these experiments were forgotten, and because of Bowman's and Ludwig's studies fluctuations in urine flow were ascribed to changes in blood pressure. It was not until 1870 to 1880 that Ustimowitsch, Falck and Richet stressed the role of urinary solutes on urine flow. Around 1900, Cushny also studied the diuretic effect of different solutes excreted in the urine and actually described what is now called an osmotic diuresis, though he did not use the term. These studies enabled him to deliver his "modern view" of the Secretion of the Urine. This was the first coherent concept which attempted to explain the formation of the urine and the regulation of its composition according to a pressure of a selective tubular reabsorption controlled by the needs of the "Milieu Intérieur." When glomerular and tubular functions became quantifiable, Homer W. Smith's disciples were able to define the exact nature of an osmotic diuresis and that explained the paradox of polyuria and renal failure.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007668	Kidney	Body organ that filters blood for the secretion of URINE and that regulates ion concentrations.	Kidneys
D010827	Physiology	The biological science concerned with the life-supporting properties, functions, and processes of living organisms or their parts.
D004231	Diuresis	An increase in the excretion of URINE. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)	Diureses
D004234	Diuretics, Osmotic	Compounds that increase urine volume by increasing the amount of osmotically active solute in the urine. Osmotic diuretics also increase the osmolarity of plasma.	Osmotic Diuretic,Osmotic Diuretics,Diuretic, Osmotic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D049670	History, 17th Century	Time period from 1601 through 1700 of the common era.	17th Century History,17th Cent. History (Medicine),17th Cent. History of Medicine,17th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 17th Century,History of Medicine, 17th Cent.,History, Seventeenth Century,Medical History, 17th Cent.,Medicine, 17th Cent.,17th Cent. Histories (Medicine),17th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 17th (Medicine),Century Histories, Seventeenth,Century History, 17th,Century History, Seventeenth,Histories, 17th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 17th Century,Histories, Seventeenth Century,History, 17th Cent. (Medicine),Seventeenth Century Histories,Seventeenth Century History
D049671	History, 18th Century	Time period from 1701 through 1800 of the common era.	18th Century History,18th Cent. History (Medicine),18th Cent. History of Medicine,18th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 18th Century,History of Medicine, 18th Cent.,History, Eighteenth Century,Medical History, 18th Cent.,Medicine, 18th Cent.,18th Century Histories,Cent. History, 18th (Medicine),Cent. Medicine, 18th,Century Histories, 18th,Century Histories, Eighteenth,Century History, 18th,Century History, Eighteenth,Eighteenth Century Histories,Eighteenth Century History,Histories, 18th Century,Histories, Eighteenth Century,History, 18th Cent. (Medicine)
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History