Lecture 2/2

• urochrome - from catabolism of heme; insoluble/unrecyclable heme; produce at constant rate; processing water normally means urine will be yellow
• clarity - should be done in clear container
• macroscopic analysis - urine

  clear - crystal clear
• macroscopic analysis - urine

  • hazy - limited sediment microscopically; not crystal clear; not cloudy enough to obscure what's behind it; can have sediment that's not pathological (e.g. mucous, epithelium)
• clear urine is not always normal
• macroscopic analysis - urine

  • cloudy - can see behind, but cannot read easily; can see shadows; large amounts of epithelial cells, RBCs/WBCs, bacteria, yeast, crystals, fecal contamination
• macroscopic analysis - urine

  • turbid - cannot see through urine; same sediment as in cloudy, but in larger amounts
• sometimes, if the patient eats things that are high in urates/phosphates, as urine cools, sediment precipitates out
• abnormal causes of hazy urines - WBCs/RBCs, bacteria
• • all urine that is not clear should be examined microscopically
• turbidity should correspond to what's seen under the microscope

  e.g. hazy urine should have +4 RBC/WBCs, etc