Knowra Urinalysis Urinalysis Urinalysis is the examination of urine by visual inspection, chemical testing, and microscopy. It helps detect abnormalities associated with kidney, urinary-tract, metabolic, and systemic disease.
Urine dipstick test : A reagent-strip test that detects selected chemical properties and substances in urine through color changes. Its pads rapidly screen for findings such as blood, protein, glucose, and leukocyte esterase.
Urine : The liquid waste produced by the kidneys and excreted through the urinary tract. Its composition carries information about kidney filtration, metabolism, and urinary-tract conditions.
Proteinuria : An abnormal amount of protein in urine, often associated with kidney damage or disease. Dipstick protein can prompt evaluation for glomerular injury and quantify urinary protein.
Urine pregnancy test : A test that detects human chorionic gonadotropin in urine to assess pregnancy. It is a targeted urine assay rather than the broad examination meant by urinalysis.
Urine microscopy : Microscopic examination of urine sediment for cells, casts, crystals, and microorganisms. It identifies formed elements that chemical test strips cannot characterize.
Nephron : The kidney’s microscopic functional unit, which filters blood and modifies the resulting fluid into urine. Nephron structure explains why some urine findings point to kidney injury.
Hematuria : The presence of red blood cells in urine, visible to the eye or detected by testing. Urinalysis distinguishes a positive blood screen from confirmed red cells on microscopy.
Urine toxicology screening : Testing urine for drugs or their metabolites, usually with screening assays followed by confirmation. It examines urine for a specialized purpose and is not routine urinalysis.
Urine sediment : The material that settles from urine after centrifugation, including cells, casts, crystals, and microbes. Microscopy examines this concentrated fraction for structural clues to disease.
Glomerular filtration : The movement of water and small solutes from blood through kidney glomeruli into the nephron. Changes to this filtration barrier can allow blood cells or protein into urine.
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