The Artificial Kidney

Born in Canada, Leonard Rowntree moved to Camden and opened a practice in the city's Cramer Hill section.  Dr. Rowntree left Camden in 1907 to study medical research with Professor John Jacob Abel at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.  He reopened his Camden office during the next few summers, while the local physicians were on vacation.

In 1910 Dr. Rowntree and Dr. J.T. Geraghty introduced the phthalein excretion test of renal function.  Dr. Rowntree, Dr. Abel and Dr. J.J. Turner published a landmark 1914 article about their dialysis experiments on dogs, using the first artificial kidney.

Following World War I, Dr. Rowntree relocated to the Mayo Clinic, where he spent 11 years.  There he introduced lumbar sympathectomy as therapy for malignant hypertension and discovered the principle of intravenous contrast urography.

In 1932 Dr. Rowntree returned to the Delaware Valley as director of the Philadelphia Institute for Medical Research.  During World War II he became chief of the Medical Service of the Selective Service System and later retired to Florida, where he helped found the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Sources

Moss, Sandra W.  "Medical history: Dr. Leonard Rowntree of Camden." New Jersey Medicine 92(9):596-600, September 1995.

Drukker, William.  "Haemodialysis: A historical review."  In Replacement of Renal Function by Dialysis: A textbook of dialysis.  2nd ed.  Edited by William Drukker, Framk M. Parsons and John F.Maher.  Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1986 (c1983).  pp. 3-52.

Selected Bibliography

Abel JJ and Rowntree, LG.
On the pharmacological action of some phthaleins and their derivatives with especial reference to their behavior as purgatives.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 1909-10; 1:231-64.

Rowntree, LG and Geraghty, JT.
An experimental and clinical study of the functional activity of the kidneys by means of phenolsulphonephthalein.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 1909-10; 1:579-661.

Osborne ED, Sutherland CG, Scholl AJ Jr, and Rowntree LG
Landmark article Feb 10, 1923: Roentgenography of urinary tract during excretion of sodium iodid.
JAMA. 1983 Nov 25;250(20):2848-53.  (UI: 84065097)

Rowntree LG.
The effects on mammals of the administration of excessive quantities of water.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.1926; 29:135-159

Rowntree, Leonard George, 1883-
Amid masters of twentieth century medicine: a panorama of persons and pictures. With an introduction by George F. Lull.
Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, 1958.

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