The book provides a comprehensive uptodate review of the present state of knowledge of urinary enzymes. Since it deals with all the essential questions currently being discussed in connection with urinary enzymes, it will be of interest to biochemists, clinical chemists, renal physiologists, nephrologists and clinicians working on renal problems.The chapters are grouped into 5 parts, the first offeringan update of the biochemical and morphological fundamentals of the excretionof urinary enzymes, including a description of the distribution of diagnostically relevant enzymes along the nephron, the mechanisms of enzyme release, and the physiological factors influencing the excretion rate. The chapters in the second part deal with the methodological fundamentals ofthe activity determination of urinary enzymes (preanalytical treatment, quality assurance, methodical details for the most important enzymes, reviewon reference intervals). The four chapters in the third part review aspects of urinary enzyme excretion in clinical medicine (renal, renal associated, and urological disorders, kidney transplantation, nephrotoxicity, extrarenal diseases) and includes a special chapter on the general background for interpreting data on urinary enzyme excretion. The fourth part, consisting of 3 chapters, covers urinary enzymes in animal experiments (animal models, influence of different substances on urinary enzyme excretion, reference values in various animals). The book concludes with a review of the posibilities for using renal enzymes as the basis for alternative methods of screening toxic substances.