The urinary excretion of citrate in uranium-poisoned rats.

The increased urinary excretion of citrate following administration of sodium bicarbonate has been noted by many investigators (l-9). During the course of work on the effect of uranium on various metabolic processes we wished to ascertain whether the kidney poisoned by uranium would excrete citrate to the same extent that a normal kidney does after administration of sodium bicarbonate. Surprisingly, an increased excretion of urinary citrate was found to occur following a single sublethal dose of uranium nitrate. Studies of the urinary excretion of citrate following (a) a single dose, (b) increased doses, and (c) repeated small doses of uranium nitrate and the possible relationship of such excretion to the phenomenon of tolerance constitute the substance of this paper.