Name:

Lab #:
Urinalysis Lab
Introduction:
The kidneys play an important role in maintaining homeostasis. They help to
regulate blood pressure, regulate electrolytes, and maintain the proper acid-base
balance. The kidneys filter the blood and remove wastes such as urea. These
wastes are sent to the bladder to be excreted from the body as urine, while the
kidney reabsorbs things like water, glucose, and amino acids. By testing a patients
urine, doctors can determine if the kidneys are not functioning properly. This can
help doctors to diagnose specific diseases and prescribe the correct treatment.
In this lab, you will be the doctors responsible for determining if there is a
problem with the kidneys of three different patients by performing a urinalysis (an
analysis of a patients urine). Once you decide if the patient may have a disease,
you will examine the results and diagnose the disease.
Purpose:
1. To use reasoning skills to diagnose a disease.
2. To understand that urine can be used as a diagnostic tool.
Materials:
Urine samples (3)
Urine test strips
Disease description page
Urinalysis results table
Procedure:
1. Obtain sample of urine from patient 1.
2. Observe and record color of sample. Rank them in order of darkest (3) to
lightest (1).
3. Perform urinalysis by dipping test strip into sample of urine.
4. Compare strip to description of results on the bottle to determine any
abnormalities.
5. See the head lab technician to discover the results of other tests that were
performed.
6. Use the test results to diagnose the disease for patient 1 by referring to the
disease description page.
7. Repeat for patients 2 and 3.
Observation and Data:
Patient
Urinalysis
Results
Other Test
Results
Color

Urinalysis Results Table

Patient #1
Patient #2

Patient #3

Diagnosis
Discussion and results:
In several sentences, summarize your findings for each patient and explain why
some patients urine samples are darker than others.

Conclusion:
Describe how urine can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine a patients
disease.

Because urine is filtered by the kidneys from the blood, analysis of the urine can
give information about the internal workings of the body. You will use urinalysis
profiles of three patients to determine what is wrong with each patient. Standard
urinalysis includes the following tests:
Normal Results
TEST
Detects
Normal Result
Bilirubin
Bilirubin is a breakdown product of blood,
None
normally found in the liver but not in the blood.
Glucose
The main carbohydrate used for energy.
None
Normally found in the blood.
Ketones
Ketones are breakdown products from fat
None
metabolism.
pH
Acidity or alkalinity or urine.
pH of 5.5 to
7.5
Proteins
Proteins are normally found in the blood, but do None
not enter the nephric filtrate in the Bowmans
capsule.
Specific gravity
Density of urine (pure water=1.000)
1.005 to
1.030
RBC (red blood
Red blood cells or hemoglobin from burst cells.
None
cells)
Nitrites
Nitrogen-containing ions produced by bacteria.
None
Other tests you can perform as a follow-up test include:
WBC
White blood cells
None
24-hour urine
Total output of urine over a 24 hour period.
0.8 to 2.0L
output

Disease Descriptions
Diabetes mellitus:
Diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It can be
caused by too little insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas to regulate blood
sugar), resistance to insulin, or both. While blood glucose levels are high, lack of
insulin means that the cells of the body are starved for energy. The elevated levels
of glucose in the blood will result in glucose in the urine, which will carry extra water
by osmosis and cause frequent urination.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI):
A urinary tract infection, or UTI, is a bacterial infection that can happen anywhere
along the urinary tract (the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, or the urethra).
Damage from the infection can cause bleeding into the urinary tract. Bacterial
metabolism can lead to the production of nitrates and a change in the urine pH.
Polycystic Kidney Disease:
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited kidney disorder that enlarges the
kidneys and interferes with their function because of multiple cysts on the kidneys.
PKD is an inherited disorder with autosomal dominant inheritanceif one parent
carries the gene, the children have a 50% chance of developing the disorder. The
exact mechanism that triggers cyst formation is unknown. The disease gets worse
slowly, eventually resulting in end-stage kidney failure. An autosomal recessive
form of polycystic kidney disease also exists and appears in infancy or childhood; it
tends to be very serious and progresses rapidly, resulting in end-stage kidney

failure and generally causing death in infancy or childhood. Red blood cells and
proteins in the urine, along with an abdominal CT, can help diagnose this disease.

Urinalysis Results for Patients #1-3

Patient #1

Patient #2

Patient #3

Urinalysis profile:

Urinalysis profile:

Urinalysis profile:

Bilirubin = none

Bilirubin = none

Bilirubin = none

Glucose = none

Glucose = none

Glucose = positive

Ketones = none

Ketones = none

Ketones = positive

pH = 7.0

pH = 6.5

pH = 5.8

proteins = none

proteins = none

proteins = none

specific gravity = 1.001

specific gravity = 1.025

specific gravity = 1.017

RBC = none

RBC = none

RBC = none

Nitrites = none

Nitrites = none

Nitrites = none

WBC = none

WBC = positive

WBC = none