Urea Excretion in the Camel

¹ From the Department of Zoology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and Centre de Recherches Sahariennes, Béni Abbès, Algeria

The nitrogen excretion was studied in the one-humped camel, Camelus dromedarius. When a growing camel was maintained on a low N intake (dates and hay) the amount of N excreted in the form of urea, NH₃ and creatinine decreased to 2–3 gm/day. This decrease was caused by a drop in urea excretion from 13 gm to 0.2–0.5 gm/day. Urea given intravenously during low N intake was not excreted but was retained. (The camel like other ruminants can utilize urea for microbial synthesis of protein.) The renal mechanism for urea excretion was investigated by measuring urea clearance and glomerular filtration rate during a period of 7 months. During normal N intake about 40% of the urea filtered in the glomeruli were excreted in the urine while during low N intake only 1–2% were excreted. The variations in urea clearance were independent of the plasma urea concentration and of glomerular filtration rate, but were related to N intake and rate of growth. No evidence of active tubular reabsorption of urea was found since the urine urea concentration at all times remained higher than the simultaneous plasma urea concentration. The findings are not in agreement with the current concept for the mechanism of urea excretion in mammals. It is concluded that the renal tubules must either vary their permeability to urea in a highly selective manner or secrete urea actively.