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Editorial
. 2023 Feb 6;16(6):891-895.
doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfad024. eCollection 2023 Jun.

History of creatinine clearance: tribute to a forerunner

Attilio Losito  1
Affiliations
Editorial

History of creatinine clearance: tribute to a forerunner

Attilio Losito. Clin Kidney J. .

Abstract

It is known to few that the path to the discovery of the long-denied plasma creatinine and its clearance was long and difficult. For quite a long time, related controversies between different groups of researchers were widespread and heated. The scientists who have dealt with the related problems are among the most famous of the last century and some of them are part of the history of medicine. Giovanni Ferro-Luzzi, an Italian clinician, was one of these researchers. He was among the first to detect and dose plasma creatinine and the first ever to measure the clearance of endogenous creatinine (CrCl). Unfortunately, due to a series of unforeseeable events, he has been completely forgotten together with his undertakings. In this review we retrace the steps that led to the measurement of plasma creatinine, and CrCl. With brief biographical notes we try to explain the oblivion of this important figure and of his nephrological accomplishments.

Keywords: creatinine; creatinine clearance; history of nephrology; kidney function; pioneers in medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
On the left is shown the title page of Ferro-Luzzi's 1934 paper, the first ever description of endogenous creatinine clearance. The right inset is the table from the same paper showing under the heading ‘F1 ccm’ the values of glomerular filtration in healthy subjects.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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