=Kidneys.= One of the most important factors in prenatal care is promoting the function of the kidneys and watching their output. It is probably more true of the kidneys than of any other organs that a slight abnormality which would not give trouble at other times may, if neglected during pregnancy, produce very grave results. The amount of urine passed in twenty-four hours should be measured, and a specimen prepared, once a month during the first half of pregnancy and every two weeks afterward. If less than three pints are passed the patient should know, without further instruction, that she is not taking enough water and must take more. And so it is the nurse’s duty, in this connection, to convince her patient of the importance of drinking an abundance of water, and periodically measuring her urine and sending specimens to the doctor for examination. She is very likely to follow such advice if she is told that by so doing she will help to prevent convulsions, for most women know of this complication and dread it. In preparing a specimen, a covered or corked receptacle which is large enough to hold the voidings for twenty-four hours, must be thoroughly washed and scalded; in it should be collected the total amount of urine voided during twenty-four hours and kept in a place that is cool enough to prevent putrefactive changes. The additional precaution of putting a teaspoonful of chloroform into the receptacle is wise and does not injure the specimen. The patient should be instructed to empty her bladder at any designated hour, and then keep all urine voided from that time until the corresponding hour on the following day. The urine should be shaken so as to mix thoroughly the different voidings, and six or eight ounces poured into a bottle which has been washed and scalded, carefully corked and labelled with the date, patient’s name, address and the total amount for twenty-four hours. If the nurse is called upon to test for albumen, either of the following will serve, unless the doctor specifies a test which he prefers: _Heat and acetic acid test_: Fill a test tube about half full of urine and gently boil the upper part in a flame; add five drops of 2% to 5% acetic acid and again boil gently. The presence of albumen is shown by a white cloud in the upper part of the urine. _Esbach’s test_: Fill a test tube half full of urine; add eight or ten drops of Esbach’s Solution. The presence of albumen is shown by a white flocculent precipitate in the upper part of the urine.