Functional blood volume and distribution of specific blood flow in the kidney of man

A method has been devised to determine the distribution of blood flow through the kidney in man and animals. The studies reported here have been accomplished in humans by using catheterization of renal artery and vein so as to administer a dye indicator at the entrance of the system and measure its behavior at the exit. Through a transformation of the equation of the dye curve the distribution of specific blood flow is inferred. The distribution function seems to be superimposable from one individual to another. The ratio of the half width to the first moment of the distribution function remains nearly constant under widely variable physiological conditions. Renal blood volume and renal capillary surface area are also measured. specific renal blood flow; functional renal blood volume; renal blood volume; capillary blood volume; renal capillary surface area Submitted on October 9, 1964