A Contribution to the Subjects of Chronic Interstitial Nephritis and Arteritis in the Young, and Family Nephritis; With a Note on Calcification in the Liver

Chronic nephritis in children and adolescents is a condition which has been much overlooked. Especially is this true of the chronic interstitial type (contracted kidney). Dickinson was of the opinion that the latter condition was not infrequent in children. Heubner (1), who has lately written a monograph upon this subject, from which many of these introductory remarks are cited, states that of 251 cases of chronic nephritis which he observed in Leipsic, 214 occurred in adults and 37 in children. Later, in Berlin, he saw 28 cases in children, mostly after scarlet fever. Of these 65 cases, there were 3 of parenchymatous nephritis, 4 of contracted kidney and 5 of chronic h~emorrhagic nephritis (Wagner). Of 33 cases of chronic interstitial nephritis observed by Barrels (2), one occurred at the age of 18, one at 19, and two at 20. Of Dickinson's (3) 308 cases, one occurred between 11 and 20 years, and 24 between 21 ancl 30 years.