Abstract
ONE of the minor consequences of total war is the resurgence of classical physiological problems, such as the effects of hæmorrhage and of dehydration. Although pure dehydration, in the sense of a deficiency of water but not of salt, is rarely met with clinically, it is precisely this disturbance which presents itself in desert warfare, and in lifeboats or on rafts. One aspect of dehydration which has received much less attention than it deserves is the function of the kidney. Very little urine is formed, and it might have been anticipated that there would have been interesting changes in its composition, and possibly in its mode of secretion. There was the possibility, for example, that a shortage of water in the organism might lead to a diminished blood flow to the kidney, or a diminished glomerular filtration rate.
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BLACK, D., MCCANCE, R. & YOUNG, W. Function of the Kidney in Dehydration. Nature 150, 461 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/150461a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/150461a0
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