-
The invention of the dipstick
Test papers to dipsticks in 72 years The SSA test came first. From Cornell Vet School, with permission* For urinary protein detection the basic chemistry was established in the late 1700s, and until the late 1950s the standard test was still based on acidification and/or heating of urine to precipitate protein. Carrying bottles of acid…
-
The perils of Salt
Dialysis finally forced recognition of its importance in kidney disease The Amazonian Yanomami Indians famously manage on only 50mg (1 mmol) of sodium chloride per day, while in more developed societies we struggle to keep our average intake below 100 times that level. Humans probably mostly evolved on diets more like that of the Yanomami.…
-
The invention of IV fluid therapy
Thomas Latta first used IV saline in the 1832 cholera epidemic IV infusions at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in the 1970s The second worldwide pandemic of cholera hit Scotland in 1832, travelling to Europe on ships from India, hence ‘Asian cholera’. This was – and remains – a terrible illness with a high mortality without medical…
-
Proteinuria: a bad thing since 400 B.C.
Indicates risk of renal failure and death Isaac Sarrabat 1600; Physician examining a urine flask. (US National Library of Medicine) Hippocrates (400 B.C.) described bubbles on the surface of the urine as indicating kidney disease and a long illness. Inspection of the urine (uroscopy, Fig 1) was a major part of the art of the…
-
The renal data revolution from 1980
Renal units pioneer electronic records In the UK through the 1970s and 1980s renal units found themselves responsible for increasing numbers of patients, and services were stretched to capacity and beyond in seeking to cope with pressure of new starts. Managing their complex treatments and monitoring frequent test results was a major problem for understaffed…
-
Dropsy, nephrosis, nephrotic syndrome
The first effective treatment for a kidney disease, 1950. Dropsy is an ancient word (first recorded about 1290 AD) meaning oedema. Generalised oedema can be caused by heart or liver or kidney disease, or by malnutrition. In all of these it was a pretty bad sign in ancient medicine as it meant that the patient…
-
Welcome and Introduction
Once people thought that the kidney was run by little people … The aim here is to tell the story of nephrology and transplantation in random bite-sized chunks. So out of sequence, an eclectic selection, and perhaps it will all make sense in the end. The tags (labels) should help. Must remember to use them.…