Urinalysis

Fat Variably-sized droplets of free lipid are fairly commonly observed upon microscopic examination of urine from dogs and cats. They can most readily be differentiated from cells by their propensity to float up under the coverslip to a different plane of focus compared to cells which have settled to the surface of the slide. They […]

Infectious agents of various classes can be observed in urine sediments. In most cases, their significance can be properly assessed only in light of the clinical signs, method of collection, post-collection interval, and other findings in the urinalysis. For instance, urine collected off the floor or some other receptacle could be contaminated by fecal material.

Crystalluria indicates that the urine is supersaturated with the compounds that comprise the crystals, e.g. ammonium, magnesium and phosphate for struvite. Crystals can be seen in the urine of clinically healthy animals or in animals with no evidence of urinary disease (such as obstruction and/or urolithiasis). However, some crystals can be pathologically relevant in certain

Cellular constituents that may be present in urine include leukocytes, erythrocytes, epithelial cells and sperm. Please also refer to the compilation table of cells that may be seen in the urine and the urinalysis atlas. Evaluation of cellular constituents requires concentration of urine in some way, most commonly done by centrifugation, but gravity sedimentation of urine

Chemical constituents that are a part of a urinalysis and included on a dipstick measurement: pH, protein, glucose, ketones, bilirubin and heme. We do not generally use the leukocyte and urobilinogen pads on the dipstick as they are considered inaccurate (dogs and cats at any rate for the leukocyte pad) or not diagnostically useful (urobilinogen).

Urine specific gravity (USG) and osmolality are measures of the solute concentration in urine and are used to assess tubular function, i.e. the ability of the renal tubules to dilute (loop of Henle) or concentrate (distal tubules) the glomerular filtrate. Knowledge of urinary solute concentration is essential for proper interpretation of urea and creatinine, which

Urine color The color of the urine sample is assessed visually and reported as red, brown, yellow, etc, or combination thereof, along with a modifier for the depth of color, eg, light yellow, dark red/brown, etc. Some examples of various urine colors and corresponding common causes are shown below (this is not an exhaustive list

Urinalysis is an essential component of clinical pathologic testing. It is very difficult to interpret changes in a chemistry panel (urea nitrogen and creatinine in particular) in the absence of urine, since the kidney and its ability to produce urine can dramatically affect chemistry results. Most of the urine samples we receive are from small