A treatise on the practice of medicine, for the use of students and practitioners . changes with the variationsin the quantity of urinary water, rising to 1035, even 1040, when theamount of urine discharged is very small. If, fromany cause, there is a considerable increase in thequantity of urine, the specific gravity falls corre-spondingly, and below the normal. Albumen is al-ways present, but not in very great quantity, andfluctuates in amount with the variations in the spe-cific gravity. The same fact is true of urea, which,while constantly and absolutely below the normal, fig. 85.—Casts be
A treatise on the practice of medicine, for the use of students and practitioners . changes with the variationsin the quantity of urinary water, rising to 1035, even 1040, when theamount of urine discharged is very small. If, fromany cause, there is a considerable increase in thequantity of urine, the specific gravity falls corre-spondingly, and below the normal. Albumen is al-ways present, but not in very great quantity, andfluctuates in amount with the variations in the spe-cific gravity. The same fact is true of urea, which,while constantly and absolutely below the normal, fig. 85.—Casts becomingvaries with the changes in the specific gravity of the atty urine. The uric acid is increased, and probably in the ratio of thediminution of the urea. When the dropsical accumulation has reached the maximum, thefluid is not limited to the subcutaneous tissue and the cavities. Themucous membranes become similarly affected. An early symptommay be a husky, even toneless voice, and dangerous laryngeal stenosis,from oedema of the glottis. The lungs become more or less oedema-. 482 DISEASES OF THE KIDNEY. tous at the height of the disease, and life may be terminated by theaccumulation of fluid in the lungs. The gastro-intestinal mucousmembrane is also dropsical, and the epithelium, swollen, sodden, anddegenerating, is cast off in large quantity. The result is vomiting ofa quantity of serous fluid and profuse serous evacuations from thebowels, not only exhausting in themselves, but causing, ultimately,greater depression by interfering with digestion and the assimilationof food. The external integument is similarly affected. The epider-mis is sodden and detached ; the skin cracks in places, permitting thewater to drain through ; and the true skin, irritated and exposed, be-comes exceedingly painful. This process takes place especially wherethe enormously distended scrotum lies on the swollen thighs. Anextreme degree of anaemia results, from the operation of the variousinfluence
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectmedicine, bookyear188
