Physical properties of urine

When studying the physical properties of urine, its quantity, color, transparency, and density are evaluated.

Quantity. In healthy people, the daily amount of urine is 0.8-2 liters, an average of 1500 ml. An increase in daily diuresis is observed with the convergence of edemas, with sugar and diabetes insipidus. The decrease in daily diuresis can be the result of profuse sweating, profuse diarrhea and vomiting. The most frequent reason for a decrease in daily diuresis is the increase in swelling, regardless of their origin. The marked decrease in diuresis is oliguria( less than 600 ml per day);absence of urine or its amount is not more than 50 ml per day - anuria. In accordance with the cause of anuria, the following forms are distinguished.

■ Prerenal anuria occurs due to extrarenal causes: severe blood loss, acute cardiac and vascular insufficiency( shock), with indomitable vomiting, severe diarrhea.

■ Renal( secretory) anuria is associated with a pathological process in the kidneys and can occur with acute nephritis, necronemphrosis, transfusion of incompatible blood, with severe chronic kidney disease.

■ Obstructive( excretory) anuria is associated with complete blockage of both ureters with kidney stones or by squeezing them with tumors developing near the ureters( cancer of the uterus, appendages, prostate, bladder, metastasis from other organs).

It is important to distinguish between anuria and ishuria - urinary retention in the bladder due to the inability or insufficiency of independent urination( adenoma, prostate cancer, inflammatory prostate diseases, urethral stricture, etc.).

Color. In healthy people, the color of urine is straw-yellow. It is caused by the maintenance in it of a uric pigment - urochrome.

Color change can be the result of the isolation of color compounds formed during organic changes or under the influence of dietary components taken by drugs, contrast agents.

■ Red color or color of meat slops is mainly due to macrogemuria or hemoglobinuria, as well as the presence of myo-globin, porphyrin, drugs or their metabolites in the urine.

■ Dark yellow color, sometimes with a green or greenish-brown tinge, is due to urinary excretion of bilirubin with parenchymal and mechanical jaundice.

■ Greenish-yellow color is associated with a high content of pus in the urine.

■ Dirty brown or gray due to pyuria in alkaline urine reactions.

■ Dark, almost black color due to hemoglobinuria in acute hemolytic anemia or homogentisic acid in alkapto-puria;sometimes melanin in melanoma, melanosarcoma.

■ The whitish color is due to the presence in the urine of a large number of phosphates( phosphaturia) or due to lupuria - discharge from the urine of fat during the infestation of the parasite Filaria.

Transparency. Normally, the urine is transparent. Urine clouding can be the result of the presence of red blood cells, leukocytes, epithelium, bacteria, fat drops, precipitation of salts, depending on their concentration, pH, mucus, urine storage temperature( low temperature contributes to the precipitation of salts).

Density. In healthy people, fluctuations during the day are 1,008-1,025 g / l and higher. The main causes leading to impairment of urine density are given in Table.

Table Diseases and conditions in which the urine density may deteriorate

Table Diseases and conditions in which the urine density may deteriorate