Title

Urinalysis

Aim
To investigate a variety of different components on four different samples of urine.

Introduction
Urinalysis was the first laboratory test performed in medicine and has been used for
several thousand years. Today urinalysis continues to be a powerful tool in obtaining crucial
information for diagnostic purposes in medicine. Urinalysis is the analysis of urine by physical,
chemical, and microscopical, which is commonly used to diagnose a urinary tract or kidney
infection, to evaluate causes of kidney failure, to screen for progression of some chronic
conditions such as diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure (hypertension). It also may be used
in combination with other tests to diagnose some diseases.
The urinary system has several roles, that is to eliminate waste, excess water and solute. It
also help to maintain homeostasis of fluid volume and blood pressure. Urinary system helps to
retain carbohydrate, lipids and proteins in the body too. The organ in urinary system including
kidney, ureter, urinary bladder and urethra. Urine is a liquid or water waste product that passes
through your urinary tract and is expelled from your body through your urethra. For a male, the
urine exits the urethra at the tip of the penis, and for a woman, the urine exits the urethra opening
located south of the clitoris and north of the vagina.
Urine is an aqueous solution of greater than 95% water, with the remaining constituents,
in

order

of

decreasing

concentration urea 9.3

g/L,

chloride

1.87

g/L, sodium 1.17

g/L, potassium 0.750 g/L, creatinine 0.670 g/L and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic
compounds (proteins, hormones, metabolites). Urine is sterile until it reaches the urethra,
where epithelial cells lining the urethra are colonized by facultatively anaerobic gram negative
rods and cocci. Subsequent to elimination from the body, urine can acquire strong odors due to

bacterial action, and in particular the release of ammonia from the breakdown of urea.
Urine is created by your kidneys.
In this experiment, urinalysis performed on five different samples of urine to test a variety
of different components. The test includes test of pH, glucose, albumin, yeast and ketones. The
observation is then recorded in a table.
Apparatus and materials
Beaker, test tube, label paper, pH meter, water, tripod stand, Bunsen burner, gauze mat,
Benedicts solution, Biurets reagent, hydrogen peroxide

Methods
As described in MFHS301-Laboratory Exercise 4 : Urinalysis
Results
Physical properties:
Urine Sample
A
B
C
D
E

Clarity
Clear
Cloudy
Slightly cloudy
Cloudy
Clear

Color
Yellow
Translucent yellow
Pale yellow
White
Colourless

Glucose test:
Urine Sample
A
B
C
D
E

Observation
Remains blue colour.
Remains blue colour.
Blue Green Yellow Orange
Remains blue colour.
Remains blue colour.

pH
5.62
7.24
7.12
5.88
4.14

Albumin test:
Urine Sample
A
B
C
D
E

Observation
Blue colour formed.
Purple colour formed.
Blue colour formed.
Light blue colour formed.
Blue colour formed.

Yeast test:
Urine Sample
A
B
C
D
E

Observation
No bubble is produced.
No bubble is produced.
No bubble is produced.
There are a lot of bubbles produced on the surface.
No bubble is produced.

Ketone test:
Urine Sample
A
B
C
D
E

Discussion

Observation
Slight ammonia smell.
Peculiar egg smell.
Sweet-smelling smell.
Yeasty smell.
Sour smell like acetone.

Based on the experiment above, urinalysis is performed on five samples of urine, that is
sample A,B,C, D and E. One of the urine sample act as control in this experiment, which is
sample A. The test on the urine including test of pH, glucose, albumin, yeast and ketones.There
is a range for normal urine and abnormal urine.
According to the results recorded in the table, sample A which act as control is the
normal urine. It has a normal range of pH which is 4.5-7.5 , and have no pH, glucose, albumin,
yeast and little or none ketones in the urine. Sample A is yellow in colour and clear,indicating a
normal urine as it has no impurities in it. It also has only slightly smell of ammonia, which
means its a normal urine. But since its a yellowish urine, the yellow urine indicates
concentrated urine and the excretion of waste products in a smaller quantity of water, such as is
seen with the first morning urine, with dehydration, and during a fever. So, drinking more water
generally may helps to reduce the concentration of urine and cause it to become a lighter colour.
For sample B ,it has a peculiar egg smell and cloudy. The colour of the urine change from
blue to purple after Biuret reagent is added. This indicates that there is presence of albumin in the
urine sample B. Albumin is a protein made by liver. Albumin is normally found in the blood and
filtered by the kidneys. When the kidneys are working properly, albumin is not present in the
urine. But when the kidneys are damaged, small amounts of albumin leak into the urine. This is
called albuminuria. Albuminuria is most often caused by kidney damage from diabetes. But
many other conditions can lead to kidney damage, such as high blood pressure, heart
failure, cirrhosis, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). If early kidney damage is not treated,
larger amounts of albumin and protein may leak into the urine. When the kidneys spill protein, it
can mean serious kidney damage is present. This can lead to chronic kidney disease.
As for sample C, it has a little bit of sweet-smelling smell, slightly cloudy and the color of
urine change from blue slowly to green, yellow and finally orange. This shows that there is
presence of glucose in the urine sample C, which indicates diabetes. Glucose in the urine is
called glucosuria; it can occur in people with diabetes that is not properly regulated with insulin,
in people with kidney problems that affect the absorption of glucose, in pregnant women, and in
people with liver abnormalities or hormonal disorders. Ordinarily, urine contains no glucose
because the kidneys are able to reclaim all of the filtered glucose back into the

bloodstream. Glycosuria is nearly always caused by elevated blood glucose levels, most
commonly due to untreated diabetes mellitus.
Meanwhile for sample D, it has yeasty smell, white colour and has a clarity of cloudy. It
produces lots of small bubbles when hydrogen peroxide is added into the test tube. This positive
test indicates there is urinary tract infection or bladder infection. Yeast cells may be contaminants
or represent a true yeast infection. They are often difficult to distinguish from red cells and
amorphous crystals but are distinguished by their tendency to bud. Most often they are Candida,
which may colonize bladder, urethra, or vagina. Yeast are most often present in women who have
a vaginal yeast infection, because the urine has been contaminated with vaginal secretions during
collection. Infections anywhere in the urinary tract can cause blood and pus to appear in the
urine, giving it a cloudy appearance.
Lastly for sample E, it has a sour smell like acetone, colourless, clear and an abnormal
range of pH, 4.14 which is slightly acidic. This indicates that there is presence of ketones in the
urine sample. The condition of the urine contains ketones is called ketonuria. Ketones are not
normally found in the urine. They are intermediate products of fat metabolism. They can form
when a person does not eat enough carbohydrates for example, in cases of starvation or highprotein diets or when a person's body cannot use carbohydrates properly. When carbohydrates
are not available, the body metabolizes fat instead to get the energy it needs to keep functioning.
Ketones in urine can give an early indication of insufficient insulin in a person who has diabetes.
Severe exercise, exposure to cold, and loss of carbohydrates, such as with frequent vomiting, can
also increase fat metabolism, resulting in ketonuria.

Conclusion
Urine sample A act as a control in this experiment. There is presence of albumin in urine sample
B, presence of glucose in urine sample C, yeast infection in urine sample D, and presence of
ketone in urine sample E.

Question
1) Glomerulus Bowmans capsuleProximal tubule Loop of HenleDistal tubule
Collecting ductRenal pelvis Ureter Urinary bladder Urethra
2) Aorta Renal artery Interlobar artery Arcuate artery Interlobular artery
Afferent arteriole Glomerular capillaries Efferent arteriole Peritubular
capillaries Interlobular vein Arcuate vein Interlobar vein Renal veinInferior
vena cava
3) Because proteins are big molecule, therefore they are too large to fit through the
fenestrations in the glomerular capillaries.
4) Urea is a by-product of amino acid metabolism and uric acid is a by-product of
nucleotide metabolism.

5)

Structure

Location

Function

Ureter

Long, thin, smooth

muscle tubes
extending from
kidneys to bladder .

Transport urine to
the urinary bladder
by peristaltic waves
of smooth muscle
contraction.

Urinary
bladder

Consists of three
layers of smooth
muscle lined on the
inside by epithelial
cells.

The upper half of

the ureter is in the
abdomen proper; the
lower half is in the
pelvis. The ureter
descends
retroperitoneally on
the lateral pelvic
wall.
Urinary bladder is in
the pelvis, just
above and behind
the pubic bone.

Urethra

Passage way for

urine from bladder
to outside.

Stores urine.

For women, its

Urine pass through
opening is situated
urethra during
between a woman's urination.
clitoris and vagina.
For males, this tube
travels at the length
of the penis.
6) Hemodialysis is a therapy that remove extra fluid, filter waste and balances electrolytes
(sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, calcium, magnesium and phosphate). Blood is
removed from the body and filtered through a man-made membrane called a dialyzer, or
artificial kidney, and then the filtered blood is returned to the body in the process of
hemodialysis.
7) The similarity between simple urine formation in the nephron and clinical hemodialysis is
that both of this remove waste , excess solute and water, while the differences between

simple urine formation in the nephron and clinical hemodialysis is that simple urine
formation in nephron is a natural way to remove waste products, while clinical
hemodialysis is a technique use to remove waste products when kidney do not function
properly. Clinical hemodialysis is based completely on diffusion and osmosis across a
semi-permeable membrane in a machine.

8) Amount of fluid intake and the environmental temperature.

References
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http://www.ivyroses.com/HumanBody/Urinary/Urinary_System_Composition_Urine.php
[ Accessed 14 May 2015 ]
2) Lifelabs.com. Urinalysis.

http://www.lifelabs.com/Lifelabs_BC/Patients/MedicalConditions/Urinalysis.asp
[ Accessed 14 May 2015 ]
3) Hopkinslupus.org. Urinalysis.
http://www.hopkinslupus.org/lupus-tests/screening-laboratory-tests/urinalysis/
[ Accessed 14 May 2015 ]
4) Webmd.com. Urine test.
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/urine-test
[ Accessed 14 May 2015 ]
5) Highlands.edu. Complete urinalysis.
http://www.highlands.edu/academics/divisions/scipe/biology/faculty/henderson/APII/Lab
%20manual/urinalysis_lab.htm
[ Accessed 14 May 2015 ]