1885 v. 28 - Lane Medical Library Digital Document Repository

Notes on Albuminuria. 9
It may not be out of place, also, in this connection to say, that
while in attendance upon the proprietor of the saloon on the corner
of 20th and H streets in this city, within a fortnight, I observed
this man to drink alcoholic liquor at the bar as early as eight
o'clock in the morning.
These cases have at all times evoked much interest, for although
there is but little doubt in my mind that the existence of even the
smallest quantity of albumen in the urine is always a pathological,
and never a physiological condition, yet, in view of our present
comparatively limited knowledge thereof, we are unable to determine
accurately its full significance, and to say definitely to
what extent it is incompatible with health. Such cases, therefore,
as those whose histories have been briefly narrated are of
much interest; and should it be practicable to follow them up to
the end, a ray of light may thereby be thrown upon the pathology
of this important subject.
According to my own views and observations, all such cases are
likely to terminate prematurely; but although the time at which
fatal degeneration of the kidneys, with its usual concomitants, must
of necessity be very variable, yet there can be but little doubt that
it will occur considerably within the period of their life expectancy,
however good their family history may be, and however
much inherited tendency to longevity may account for the protraction
of the fatal result. It will be a subject of much interest
to watch all such cases closely, in the hope that by the aid of collective
investigation we may be enabled to determine how much
such lives may have been shortened, and upon what plan of insurance,
properly selected, applicants afflicted with albuminuria may
be accepted with safety.
Various theories, more or less plausible, have been advanced to
account for albuminuria in cases similar to those reported tonight,
but inasmuch as you are all as familiar with them as I am,
and as my paper is already of considerable length, they will not
be even referred to on this occasion. There is much still to be
learned in connection with albuminuria. For my own part, however,
I do not believe it can be caused by arterial tension alone,
but rather that it results from the inflammatory process, acute or
chronic, and that its amount depends upon the degree