GROWTH IN INFANTS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS AND NITROGEN METABOLISM

Abstract

Since the early methods for the determination of creatinine have been replaced by the more accurate quantitative methods of Folin, studies of the excretion of creatinine by infants and young children have become more significant. In contradiction to the previous investigations, which suggested that creatinine is present in the urine of infants only in febrile cases or when meat extract is added to their diet, Funaro,¹ by means of these more recent technics, has shown that creatinine is present always in the urine of infants, and that the amount under normal and pathologic conditions does not vary greatly. Further evidence of the excretion of creatinine by infants was presented by Amberg and Rowntree,² Sedgwick,³ Rose⁴ and others. The amount of creatinine nitrogen, according to Steudel,⁵ is approximately 3.25 mg. per kilogram of body weight, whether the feeding consists of human or of cow's milk. The