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The name of Thomas Addis (1881-1949) is linked to several aspects of nephrological practice: from the "Addis count" of urinary elements, to the history of diet in chronic kidney diseases. He was accustomed to working with limited funds, and developed his theories with relatively simple means, combined with the careful, long-term observation of single cases. His political ideas were progressive; his outlook on life was optimistic. This is deeply reflected in his Glomerular Nephritis: Diagnosis and Treatment, a book worth reading in the era of chronic kidney disease (CKD), as it contains sharp analyses of the organizational aspects, and accurate comments on the role of the physician - all subjects of interest for the present times and challenges. One of Addis' ingenious ideas was to follow his patients throughout their lifelong disease, thus anticipating the theories of continuum of care and of therapeutic alliance between patients and physicians. He used to tailor his prescriptions and frequency of controls to each patient and phase of the disease, thus anticipating the tailored therapies and the patient empowerment presently considered as fundamental in chronic diseases. Furthermore, he suggested that physicians should work outside the hospital in small coordinated teams, in which volunteers, dietitians and laboratory technicians would play a crucial role. Patient-centered care and the importance of nonmedical team members are clear from the first lines of his book. As far as we know, he was the first physician to stress the role of volunteers in CKD, anticipating by decades nonprofit organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation.

Thomas Addis is an important figure in the history of nephrology. Born in Scotland and trained in Edinburgh, he came to San Francisco in 1911 to the new Stanford School of Medicine to run the clinical laboratory. Over the next 38 years, he made many contributions to renal physiology, the investigation of the structure and function of the kidneys in Bright's disease, and studies of kidney growth, hypertrophy and protein metabolism. Largely forgotten today, he was one of the first to use urea clearance as a measure of kidney function and was the first to systematize examination of the urinary sediment - the Addis count. He was also a leader in the use of diet and rest in the treatment of Bright's disease. Unknown to most nephrologists, before he came to the United States during the first 6 years following his graduation, he became one of the leading clinical investigators in hematology. His special interests were the mechanism of blood clotting and hemophilia. He was the first to transfuse fresh blood into a hemophiliac patient and show that this shortened the patient's clotting time. Addis was a great, if eccentric, personality as well as a great scientist. He was beloved by his many colleagues and students and was honored in his lifetime both in the United States and Great Britain.