Normal adults with normal protein intakes have a urinary NH4 excretion of 40 to 50 mmol/24 hours and a variable urinary pH. In cases of metabolic acidosis a urinary pH less than 5.5 suggests an extra-renal origin whilst a urinary pH greater than 5.5 is in favour of renal acidosis, but there are many exceptions to this rule. On the other hand, urinary NH4 excretion is always greater than 70 mmol/24 hours in the first case and less than 40-50 mmol/24 hours in the second; and the use of the urinary anionic gap (Na + K - Cl), negative in the first case and positive in the second, enables the two situations to be distinguished. The acidosis of nephron reduction is easily recognised in cases of severe renal failure with an increase in unmeasured plasma anions whilst tubular acidoses are accompanied by a hyperchloremia. Measurement of fractional HCO3 excretion after an oral loading dose of NaHCO3, preferably by TmCHO3 with respect to GFR, distinguishes proximal tubular acidosis (low TmHCO3) from distal tubular acidosis (normal or high TmHCO3). In the latter case, the presence of hypokalemia suggests a distal tubular acidosis either due to deficiency of the H(+)-ATPase pumps (absence of increased urinary pCO2 after oral loading dose of NaHCO3) or to the inability of the kidney to maintain a normal H+ gradient (normal increase of urinary pCO2. The presence of hyperkalemia suggests diseases associated with hypoaldosteronism (low or inappropriate serum aldosterone concentrations), abnormal transepithelial voltages or with a pseudo-hypoaldosteronism syndrome (high plasma aldosterone concentration). The prevalence of distal tubular acidosis with hyperkalemia is on the increase whilst tubular acidosis with hypokalemia remains rare.