The saga of two centuries of urea: nontoxic toxin or vice versa?

F Duranton, TA Depner, À Argilés - Seminars in nephrology, 2014 - Elsevier
In the early 1700s, a substance ultimately identified as urea was reported for the first time in
urine. About a century later, in 1828, synthesis of this organic compound was achieved, thus
giving rise to modern organic chemistry. In parallel, physicians showed that urine comes
from the kidneys and contains large amounts of urea, which is produced outside of the
kidneys, establishing the humoral approach of renal physiology. Urea was the first uremic
retention solute to be identified and it has been used as a marker of renal disease ever …