Rayer insisted on the exhaustive analysis of the urine as an aid to the diagnosis of lesions. He classified “albuminus nephritis” into six distinct forms and distinguished these from other forms of nephritis associated with infection, gout, rheumatism, and toxins. He noticed the existence of albuminuria in diabetes mellitus and also described the existence of renal vein thrombosis. His treatise on diseases of the kidney includes a spectacular color-plate atlas in folio format. The final chapter of the second volume of Rayer's text was translated into English by Diana Berry and Stewart Cameron as The history of albuminous nephritis,  with an introduction by Campbell Mackenzie. (London, 2005). See Gabriel Richet, "From Bright's disease to modern nephrology: Pierre Rayer's inovative method of clinical investigation", Kidney International, 39 (1991) 787-792.