The following salts have been reported to increase the urinary excretion of heavy metals, such as mercury, arsenic and lead: the halides, iodide, bromide and chloride, thiosulphate, bicarbonate and ammonium chloride. They might be expected to affect the excretion of bismuth similarly, but the question has not been investigated. It was thought desirable to carry out such a study in connection with our investigations of bismuth. In addition to the salts, we have tested the effects of water-drinking and of thermal and mechanical measures.
From what is known of these measures, their use would reflect the effects of salt action, changes in alkali reserve, acidosis, physical effects on the tissues, metabolic changes and pyrexia, according to the measure. The tissue changes produced might be fundamentally responsible for the well known variations in the excretion of bismuth, as well as of other heavy metals. While the variations in excretion appear to