Methods for study of the effects of diuretics

We live in an imperfect world, and no single technique of renal investigation has demonstrated a superiority in all aspects of diuretic research. We have tried to present a balanced view of the advantages and disadvantages of several of the most common techniques used to study diuretics. Because of space limitations, we have been unable to touch on important studies of diuretic effects on extrarenal tissues or even the effects of diuretics on nontransporting renal preparations (eg, metabolism in renal slices). There is still a time and a place for nearly all the techniques summarized here in the study of diuretics and their impact on renal physiology. It is our hope that this brief introduction into renal methodology will allow the discerning reader of studies of diuretics to decide for himself whether the tools chosen by the investigator were appropriate to answer the questions posed, and if not, how the questions may be more properly addressed. It is important to remember that data are neither right nor wrong; the results exist and cannot be otherwise. However, our interpretation of the data may be wrong, and the most important aspect of any experiment is not the technique but the thought behind it.