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Phase contrast microscopic observation of the urinary sediment has to be performed on freshly collected urine. This technique, which permits an excellent definition of the cells and the maintenance of intra cellular motility, gives therefore a great accuracy in differential diagnosis, especially for little round cells. Among these, polynuclear granulocytes are easily recognized, because of their lobulated nuclei and of their numerous intra cytoplasmic motile granulations. Lymphocytes and lymphoblasts have round, regular, homogeneous nuclei. Renal tubular cells exhibit eccentric nuclei, with smudged chromatine, and round, refringent cytoplasmic vacuoles. Rapid and easy, this technic should be used for routine microscopic study or urinary sediments.

Corticosterone and cortisol are assayed by fluorometry after separation of the corticoids by chromatography on silica gel in the plasma and in the adrenals of golden Hamster brought up in the laboratory. The ratio cortisol : corticosterone is 2.7 in the plasma and 2.8 in the adrenals.

Living cells from the urinary tract can be examined by phase-contrast microscopy in a pellet obtained by centrifugation of 10 ml of freshly voided urine. Once these cells have been identified and classified according to their sources, their respective proportions can be evaluated, thus providing some information on the renal structures affected. Urine sediment examination was performed in 60 cases of acute renal failure in order to determine the relationship between the abnormalities encountered and the clinical or histological diagnosis. An abnormal sediment was always associated with parenchymal acute renal failure. Cellular debris and casts were abundant in acute tubular necrosis and less numerous in toxic acute renal failure than in failure resulting from shock. The finding of deformed erythrocytes was strongly suggestive of glomerular nephropathy, a diagnosis which was confirmed by renal biopsy in almost every case.

Corticosterone is more concentrated in the white and brown fat of the Rats killed after ether and nembutal anesthesia, than by decapitation. Corticosterone in the plasma increases in the same manner. There results show that adipose tissue is a pool of dilution in balance with the circulating corticosterone.

Over a one-year period, 31 episodes of acute renal failure in children have been studied for urine sediment by contrast phase microscopy (maintained diuresis: 15, oligoanuria: 16, dialysed patients: 9). The etiologies of acute renal failure were: sepsis = 8; nephrotoxicity = 7; hemolytic uremic syndrome = 5; acute nephritic syndrome = 3; hemodynamical changes = 4; obstructive renal failure = 2; others = 3; acute rejections after renal allograft were excluded. The first urine sediment examination was performed 5 days after the onset of renal failure, and has been controlled in 11 children. In 28 cases (90%), there was a good correlation between clinical, biological, ultrasonographic and pathological (4 cases) data. The mechanism of renal failure has been determined by urine sediment examination in most cases, sometimes allowing to rectify a previous diagnosis. The value of this examination seems to be more of anatomoclinical than of prognostic interest, mainly for definite (hemolytic uremic syndrome) or polyfactorial (oncohematological diseases) renal dysfunctions.

The suppression or reduction of the adrenal secretion in the Rat and in the golden Hamster results in a reduction of the weight of brown adipose tissue and of the volume of intra cytoplasmic vacuoles. When corticotropin is given to normal and hypophysectomized animals, the intra cytoplasmic vacuolar system and the corticosterone concentration of brown fat increase. After sham hypophysectomy and short ether intake, a considerable lipidic depletion and a high level of corticosterone are observed. The authors speculate that the by adrenaline. The morphologic responses are much more intense and rapid lipid content of brown adipose tissue is increased by corticotropin and reduced by adrenaline. The morphologic responses are much more intense and rapid in brown adipose tissue than in white adipose tissue.

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