The surprising kidney-fluid mechanism for pressure control--its infinite gain!

Abstract

In this short paper, I have tried to explain the elation that we felt when we first realized that the kidney-fluid mechanism for controlling the arterial pressure has an infinite feedback gain property. Because of this, all the other pressure control mechanisms, none of which has ever been shown to have a similar infinite gain property, must themselves alter the kidney-fluid mechanism if they are to succeed in causing long-term changes in the arterial pressure. We have not been able to refute this principle despite many experiments over the last 2 decades. For this reason, our first understanding of the infinite gain property of the kidney-fluid mechanism was like a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that I can explain to the reader the excitement of those few seconds when we first recognized the principle in 1966.