By reducing the amount of salt and urea the kidneys need to excrete (the so-called solute "load"), this diet also reduces the amount of urine the kidneys must excrete to carry the salt and urea.
urea
DEFINITION:
A soluble weakly basic nitrogenous compound CO(NH2)2 that is the chief solid component of mammalian urine and an end product of protein decomposition, is synthesized from carbon dioxide and ammonia, and is used especially in synthesis (as of resins and plastics) and in fertilizers and animal rations.
kidneys
DEFINITION:
A pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.
solute
DEFINITION:
A dissolved substance.
urine
DEFINITION:
The fluid excreted by the kidneys, passed through the ureters, stored in the bladder, and discharged through the urethra. Urine, in health, has an amber color, a slight acid reaction, a peculiar odor, and a bitter, saline taste.
kidneys
DEFINITION:
A pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in man are bean-shaped organs about 4-1/2 inches long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder.
urea
DEFINITION:
A soluble weakly basic nitrogenous compound CO(NH2)2 that is the chief solid component of mammalian urine and an end product of protein decomposition, is synthesized from carbon dioxide and ammonia, and is used especially in synthesis (as of resins and plastics) and in fertilizers and animal rations.
