Abstract
THE low thermodynamic efficiency of the kidney is a long-standing paradox in renal physiology. The conventional calculations equating renal output with osmotic work arrive at a power output of about 0.5 calories per min for man1–3. A comparison of this value with the renal power input (about 100 calories per min) gives an efficiency of less than 1 per cent, an extravagance out of proportion to the efficiency of other organs and out of keeping with the general economy of the body. Homer Smith has stated that a solution to this paradox must come from some approach other than thermodynamics4.
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JOHNSON, H., KNUDSEN, K. Renal Efficiency and Information Theory. Nature 206, 930–931 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/206930a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/206930a0
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