Urinalysis Health Dictionary

A science that studies the chemistry of living organisms. It includes the chemical processes involved in the maintenance and reproduction of body cells and the chemical reactions carried out inside cells that make up the metabolism of the body. Overall regulation of these chemical processes is a function of hormones, whereas regulation of individual reactions is carried out by enzymes. A constant interchange occurs between cell fluids and blood and urine. Biochemists can therefore learn about the chemical changes going on inside cells from measurements of the various minerals, gases, enzymes, hormones, and proteins in blood, urine, and other body fluids. Such tests are used to make diagnoses and to screen for a disease and to monitor its progress. The most common biochemical tests are performed on blood, and they include liver function tests and kidney function tests. Biochemical tests can also be performed on urine (see urinalysis) and other body fluids.... biochemistry

The medical term for bed-wetting. In most cases, it occurs in children and affects boys slightly more commonly than girls. Usually, enuresis occurs as a result of slow maturation of nervous system functions concerned with bladder control. It may also result from psychological stress. In a small number of bed-wetters, there is a physical cause, such as a urinary tract infection.

If a child wets the bed persistently, tests, including urinalysis, may be performed to rule out a physical cause. For bed-wetting that is not caused by a disorder, treatment starts with training the child to pass urine regularly during the day. Getting the child to go to the toilet just before bed may be helpful. Alarm systems are available that involve the placement of humidity-sensitive pads in the child’s bed. The child is woken by the alarm if urine is passed and eventually learns to wake before urinating.... enuresis

Inflammation of the glomeruli (see glomerulus), affecting both kidneys. Damage to the glomeruli hampers the removal of waste products, salt, and water from the bloodstream, which may cause serious complications.

Some types of glomerulonephritis are caused by immune complexes (components of the immune system produced in response to infection) becoming trapped in the glomeruli. The condition occurs in some autoimmune disorders. Infectious diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis are important causes of glomerulonephritis in tropical countries.

Mild glomerulonephritis may produce no symptoms. Some sufferers experience a dull ache over the kidneys. The urine may become bloodstained. Loss of protein into the urine may cause oedema (see nephrotic syndrome). Hypertension is a potentially serious complication. Long-term glomerulonephritis is a common cause of chronic kidney failure.

Diagnosis involves kidney function tests, urinalysis, and kidney biopsy. Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the disease. Children with nephrotic syndrome usually respond to corticosteroid drugs. In adults, kidney failure can sometimes be prevented or delayed by drug treatment and dietary control to reduce the work of the kidneys.glomerulosclerosis Scarring caused by damage to the glomeruli (see glomerulus). Mild glomerulosclerosis occurs normally with age. Glomerulosclerosis may occur in some severe types of glomerulonephritis. It is also sometimes associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, AIDS, or intravenous drug abuse. glomerulus A filtering unit of the kidney that consists of a cluster of capillaries enclosed in a capsule and supplied with blood from the renal artery. Each glomerulus is a part of a larger filtering unit called a nephron. Filtered blood eventually leaves the kidney via the renal vein.

(See also glomerulonephritis.)... glomerulonephritis

The presence of glucose in the urine.

Glycosuria results from failure of the kidneys to reabsorb glucose back into the bloodstream after the blood has been filtered.

This may be due to hyperglycaemia, as in diabetes mellitus, or may occur if the kidney tubules have been damaged.

However, glycosuria is usually only significant if accompanied by a high blood glucose level.

Glycosuria often occurs during pregnancy when the blood glucose level is normal.

Glycosuria is diagnosed by urinalysis.

Treatment depends on the cause.... glycosuria

Tests performed to investigate kidney disorders.

Urinalysis is a simple test in which a urine sample is examined under a microscope for blood cells, pus cells, and casts (cells and mucous material that accumulate in the tubules of the kidneys and pass into the urine).

Urine may be tested for substances, such as proteins, that leak into the urine when the kidneys are damaged.

Kidney function can be assessed by measuring the concentration in the blood of substances, such as urea and creatinine, that the kidneys normally excrete.

Kidney function may also be assessed by kidney imaging techniques.... kidney function tests

The presence of protein in the urine. It may result from kidney disorders, including glomerulonephritis and urinary tract infection. Increased protein in the urine may also occur because of a generalized disorder that causes increased protein in the blood. Proteinuria is diagnosed by urinalysis.... proteinuria

See urinalysis.... urine tests

A branch of medicine concerned with the structure, functioning, and disorders of the urinary tract in males and females, and of the reproductive system in males. Investigative techniques that are used in urology include urography, cystoscopy, ultrasound scanning, cystometry, and urinalysis.... urology

n. the fluid excreted by the kidneys, which contains many of the body’s waste products. It is the major route by which the end-products of nitrogen metabolism – *urea, *uric acid, and *creatinine – are excreted. The other major constituent is sodium chloride. Over 100 other substances are usually present, but only in trace amounts. Analysis of urine (see urinalysis) is commonly used in the diagnosis of diseases (for example, there are high levels of urinary glucose in diabetes and of ketone bodies in ketonuria); immunological analysis of urine is the basis of most *pregnancy tests. See Appendix 3.... urine

Also called myelomatosis, multiple myeloma is a rare, cancerous condition in which plasma cells in the bone marrow proliferate uncontrollably and function incorrectly. It occurs in middle- to old age.

Plasma cells are a type of B-lymphocyte that produce immunoglobulins, which help protect against infection. In multiple myeloma, the proliferating plasma cells produce excessive amounts of one type of immunoglobulin, while production of other types is impaired. This makes infection more likely.Proliferation of the abnormal cells causes pain and destroys bone tissue.

Affected vertebrae may collapse and compress nerves, causing numbness or paralysis. Blood calcium levels increase as bone is destroyed, as may the level of one or more immunoglobulins. These changes in the blood may damage the kidneys, leading to kidney failure. There may also be anaemia and a tendency for abnormal bleeding.

The disease is diagnosed by a bone marrow biopsy, by blood tests or urinalysis, and by X-rays. Treatment includes the use of anticancer drugs, radiotherapy, and supportive measures, including blood transfusions, antibiotic drugs, and analgesic drugs.... multiple myeloma

A rare tumour of cells that secrete epinephrene (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). The tumour causes increased production of these hormones, leading to hypertension. The tumours usually develop in the medulla (core) of the adrenal glands, and are most common in young to middle-aged adults.Hypertension is the only sign most of the time, but pressure on the tumour, emotional upset, change in posture, or taking beta-blocker drugs can cause a surge of hormones. This surge brings on a sudden rise in blood pressure, palpitations, headache, nausea, vomiting, facial flushing, sweating, and, sometimes, a feeling of impending death.

Blood tests and urinalysis are used to make a diagnosis.

CT scanning, MRI, and radioisotope scanning may be used to locate the tumours, which are then usually removed surgically.

Follow-up medical checks are required because the condition occasionally recurs.... phaeochromocytoma

Pain or discomfort that occurs when urine is being passed. Painful urination is known medically as dysuria. The pain is often described as burning; sometimes it is preceded by difficulty in starting urine flow. Pain after the flow has ceased, with a strong desire to continue, is called strangury.

The most common cause, especially in women, is cystitis. Other causes include a bladder tumour, bladder stone (see calculus, urinary tract), urethritis, balanitis, prostatitis, vaginal candidiasis (thrush), or allergy to vaginal deodorants. Strangury is usually caused by spasm of an inflamed bladder wall, but it may be due to bladder stones. Mild discomfort when passing urine may be caused by highly concentrated urine.

Dysuria may be investigated by physical examination, urinalysis, urography, or cystoscopy. (See also urethral syndrome, acute.)... urination, painful