That gouty subjects are prone to nephritis has long been recognized. Nevertheless, patients coming to necropsy and in whom uratic deposits are found in the toe joints may show signs of nephritis so meager as to be ascertainable only by microscopic examination of the kidneys. 1 Frequently clinical examination of gouty patients fails to elicit symptoms which permit the diagnosis of chronic nephritis. Because of this the great majority of observers have interpreted the findings of metabolism experiments in gout on the supposition that the functional condition of the kidneys was normal. Since their results were obtained by the study of substances excreted into the urine the importance of knowing the degree of renal function is apparent. Only within a comparatively few years have methods been developed which give trustworthy information concerning efficiency of the kidneys. Using these methods, I have made a study of renal function in gouty patients with