British contributions to renal physiology trace back to the seminal contrib
ution of William Bowman, who defined the structure of mammalian nephron and
its blood supply and pointed out its likely mode of function. A series of
contributions followed, which stemmed from a distinguished lineage of physi
ologists based at University College London and which had, as its high poin
t, the establishment by Ernest H. Starling, in 1899, of a method for measur
ing oncotic pressure and the subsequent demonstration that glomerular filtr
ation requires a hydrostatic pressure in excess of oncotic pressure in the
glomerular capillaries. Arthur Cushny published a monograph on renal functi
on in 1917 which had wide influence. The homeostasis of water and sodium ch
loride were the subjects of important contributions by Verney and De Warden
er, respectively. Little contribution was made by British renal physiologis
ts to the understanding of single nephron function with the emphasis being
largely on integrative physiology.