Urine is an important excretion of body and its physical and chemical analyses indicates several health problems. Some physical properties are listed below:
Colour: Urine colour is pale yellow in healthy individuals. Some abnormal colours are:
Dark Yellow: when water deficiency, dehydration occurs.
Light Yellow: in diabetes.
Reddish: due to blood, indicating injuries in urinary tract.
Greenish yellow: in jaundice.
Coffee colour: in hemoglobinuria.
Volume: Normal urine volume varies with water intake, season and dietary status. High volume is suggestive of diabetes. Low volume indicates dehydration.
Transparency: Normal urine appears transparent Most Urine samples develop turbidity in few hours when left in laboratory.
pH: Urine pH is lightly variable due to nature of diet. The pH tends to become acidic after high protein or meat diet.
Specific gravity: Specific gravity is a measure of dissolved solutes in a solution. Urine specific gravity ranges from 1.005 to 1.050. Specific gravity is usually inversely related to volume. Specific gravity tends to be lower in winter and higher in summer.
Chemical composition of urine is also an important indicator of health states. Normal Chemical and Constituents are urea, creatinine, organic acids, electrolytes, uric acid etc. Abnormal chemical constituents are: Proteins-indicating kidney diseases. Glucose- indicating diabetes Bile salts-indicating obstructive jaundice Bile pigments-indicating jaundice Ketone bodies- indicating diabetes and ketosis Hemoglobin-indicating injuries in urinary tract. Indican bodies- indicating constipation.
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