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Urinalysis, a portmanteau of the words urine and analysis, [1] is a panel of medical tests that includes physical (macroscopic) examination of the urine, chemical evaluation using urine test strips, and microscopic examination.
Abnormal kidney function may cause too much or too little urine to be produced. The ability of the kidneys to filter protein is often measured, as urine albumin or urine protein levels, [2] measured either at a single instance or, because of variation throughout the day, as 24-hour urine tests. [citation needed]
A urine test is any medical test performed on a urine specimen. The analysis of urine is a valuable diagnostic tool because its composition reflects the functioning of many body systems, particularly the kidneys and urinary system, and specimens are easy to obtain. [1]
The human urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra. The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressure, control levels of electrolytes and metabolites , and regulate blood pH .
Urine electrolyte levels can be measured in a medical laboratory for diagnostic purposes. The urine concentrations of sodium , chlorine and potassium may be used to investigate conditions such as abnormal blood electrolyte levels, acute kidney injury , metabolic alkalosis and hypovolemia .
Changes in renin ultimately alter the output of this system, principally the hormones angiotensin II and aldosterone. Each hormone acts via multiple mechanisms, but both increase the kidney's absorption of sodium chloride, thereby expanding the extracellular fluid compartment and raising blood pressure. When renin levels are elevated, the ...
Blood filtration, as in other vertebrates, occurs in the renal glomeruli, where pressurized blood passes through a permeable barrier that filters out blood cells and large protein molecules, forming primary urine. The filtered primary urine is osmotically and ionically the same as blood plasma.
Records of urinalysis for uroscopy date back as far as 4000 BC, originating with Babylonian and Sumerian physicians. [1] At the outset of the 4th century BC Greek physician Hippocrates hypothesized that urine was a "filtrate" of the four humors, and limited possible the diagnoses resulting from this method to issues dealing with the bladder, kidneys, and urethra. [2]