The Kidney: An Outline of Normal and Abnormal Structure and Function

The first edition (1958) of this book was an excellent survey of renal function in health and disease. It included a section on diuretics, omitted here: Pitt's book on this topic is presently definitive. Several sections have been profitably and extensively rewritten and expanded. New chapters deal with new topics, notably the countercurrent system of urinary concentration and dilution, autoimmunity in renal disease, and renal participation in erythropoiesis. The chapters end with brief, up-to-date, and representative bibliographies. As before, the arrangement goes from considerations of normal physiology, through major syndromes (hypertension, edema, the nephrotic syndrome, acute and chronic renal failure) to specific abnormalities and disease states; the last includes chapters on effects of emotion and head injury, pregnancy, and mechanisms and diagnosis in polyuria. The illustrations are tasteful line drawings; these, supplemented by charts and graphs (both listed as figures), admirably clarify the text. The charts are especially useful in