Urinalysis Flashcards
Yellow-orange urine indicates what?
bilirubin
Yellow-green/yellow-brown urine indicates what?
bilirubin and biliverdin
Red/red-brown urine indicates what?
RBCs, hemoglobin, or myoglobin
How do you differentiate between hemoglobin and myoglobin in the urine?
hem - serum is pink/red
myo - serum is clear
Brown-black urine indicates what?
methemoglobin
What are the possible causes of hyperglycemic glucosuria?
- diabetes mellitus
- hyperadrenocorticism
- drugs
- post-prandial
- acute pancreatitis
What are the possible causes of normoglycemic glucosuria?
- transient stress
- reversible tubular damage
- urethral obstruction in cats
What are the possible causes of bilirubinuria?
- liver disease
- bile duct obstruction
- hemolysis
Presence in normal animal urine:
Glucose
Bilirubin
Ketones
Glucose: not present
Bilirubin: only in dogs if urine is concentrated
Ketones: not present
What are the possible causes of ketonuria?
- negative energy balance
- diabetic ketone acidosis
- isulinoma
What are the causes of alkaline urine?
- urinary tract infections (urea splitting bacteria)
- low protein diets
- respiratory or metabolic alkalosis
- alkalinizing drugs
What are the causes of acidic urine?
- high protein diets
- respiratory or metabolic acidosis
- hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis + severe dehydration
- hypokalemia
- furosemide
When are transitional epithelial cells seen in urine sediment?
- hyperplasia associated with inflammation
- transitional cell tumors
When are caudate cells seen in urine sediment?
pyelonephritis
When are renal cells seen in urine sediment?
renal tubular injury
Describe the appearance of Struvite
What is the significance?
- large, colorless, prism-like crystals
- found in neutral to alkaline urine
- urease positive bacteria promote formation
- can be found in normal patients
Describe the appearance of Bilirubin crystals
What is the significance?
- orange to copper granules, usually in small bundles
- icterus: hemolysis or hepatobilliary disease
- normal in highly concentrated dog urine
Describe the appearance of Calcium Carbonate
What is the significance?
- large spheres with radial striations
- causes brown-tinged urine
- normal in horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, and goats
Describe the appearance of Amorphous crystals
What is the significance?
- yellow to brown aggregates of finely granular material
- no significance
Describe the appearance of Calcium Oxalate Dihydrate
What is the significance?
- “envelope”: colorless squares connected by intersecting lines
- normal in domestive animals
- increased Ca excretion due to hypercalcemia or acute renal failure
Describe the appearance of Calcium Oxalate monohydrate
What is the significance?
- spindle, oval, or dumbbell shaped
- in healthy animals, or animals with oxalate urolithiasis, eythlene glycol toxicosis
Describe the appearance of Ammonium Biurate
What is the significance?
- “thorn apples”: brown-yello spikey spheres
- suggest liver disease
Describe the appearance of Cystine
What is the significance?
- flat, colorless, hexagonal plates
- inherited disease: cystinuria (defective renal tubular resorption of certain amino acids)
Significance of Hyaline casts
indicates proteinuria or renal or extra-renal disease
