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Pee is beautiful on a microscopic level too.


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As someone that looks at urine under a microscope for a living, that is not what 99% of normal urine looks like. Yes, that picture was taken from a polarized microscope, which is normally never done for normal urine samples. They only will appear in urine with a ph less than 7 (acidic), and while it uric acid crystals are usually insignificant and can appear in healthy individuals, they are also associated with kidney stones, gout, and patients receiving chemo.

In a normal, healthy, individual, when collected and tested correctly, you usually don't see much of anything when looking at their urine under a microscope.

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2 hours ago, newp said:

As someone that looks at urine under a microscope for a living, that is not what 99% of normal urine looks like. Yes, that picture was taken from a polarized microscope, which is normally never done for normal urine samples. They only will appear in urine with a ph less than 7 (acidic), and while it uric acid crystals are usually insignificant and can appear in healthy individuals, they are also associated with kidney stones, gout, and patients receiving chemo.

In a normal, healthy, individual, when collected and tested correctly, you usually don't see much of anything when looking at their urine under a microscope.

Sssshhhh let us enjoy the shinies.

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16 hours ago, newp said:

As someone that looks at urine under a microscope for a living, that is not what 99% of normal urine looks like. Yes, that picture was taken from a polarized microscope, which is normally never done for normal urine samples. They only will appear in urine with a ph less than 7 (acidic), and while it uric acid crystals are usually insignificant and can appear in healthy individuals, they are also associated with kidney stones, gout, and patients receiving chemo.

In a normal, healthy, individual, when collected and tested correctly, you usually don't see much of anything when looking at their urine under a microscope.

OK, so maybe adding a dash of vinegar (acetic acid) to some strong urine, waiting a while, and viewing with a polarising microscope would produce that sort of image.

I am amused that someone who looks at pee for a living would have this fetish (I presume you do, or you would not be here). Is there any connection?

 

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21 hours ago, newp said:

As someone that looks at urine under a microscope for a living, that is not what 99% of normal urine looks like. Yes, that picture was taken from a polarized microscope, which is normally never done for normal urine samples. They only will appear in urine with a ph less than 7 (acidic), and while it uric acid crystals are usually insignificant and can appear in healthy individuals, they are also associated with kidney stones, gout, and patients receiving chemo.

In a normal, healthy, individual, when collected and tested correctly, you usually don't see much of anything when looking at their urine under a microscope.

A little off-topic but how yellow is "too yellow"?

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1 hour ago, Ajax7408 said:

A little off-topic but how yellow is "too yellow"?

I mean, how dark of a yellow urine is is only an indication of hydration. It's not something you're overly concerned with when testing. Obviously the darker shade of yellow, the less hydrated you are, but there isn't any cut off for "too yellow". We're more concerned with the urine is red, brown, orange, green, blue or some other color that isn't yellow.

6 hours ago, David_E said:

OK, so maybe adding a dash of vinegar (acetic acid) to some strong urine, waiting a while, and viewing with a polarising microscope would produce that sort of image.

I am amused that someone who looks at pee for a living would have this fetish (I presume you do, or you would not be here). Is there any connection?

 

No connection whatsoever. I pretty much came into this job by complete chance, rather than actively choosing to do it. Dealing with most urine samples is actually rather disgusting. Bloody urine and/or crawling with bacteria is quite common. And trust me when I say that some samples for patients with a UTI can clear a room faster than a silent fart in a crowded elevator.

 

As for the crystals, no. Urine crystals are basically a mixture of chemicals formed in your body, and Uric Acid crystals are no where near the only type of crystal that can form in your urine. Those crystals can be anywhere from harmless to an indicator of a serious disease/condition in your body. For instance, Calcium Oxalate:Picture1.png.9309202c6f762c4a619254fa77914caa.png

It's not too uncommon to see this crystal in acidic urine and has basically no clinical significance (although there is a deformed version of this crystal that will show up in patients that of OD'd on antifreeze).

But you could also have crystals like this:

Picture2.jpg.4b071a78e78d662fa17a6b0825da2294.jpg

These are actually cholesterol crystals and are a sign of Nephtotic Syndrome (damage to the blood vessels in the kidney). They show up because your kidney becomes unable to filter your blood properly and lets proteins and fats through that normally are filtered back into the blood circulation.

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And now I kind of wonder what crystalline Uric Acid looks like on the macroscopic scale and if there could be such a thing as gem quality crystals of Uric acid and other minerals that can be deposited in urine. I think I remember reading somewhere that Uric acid is what makes bird poop white, but not sure if that's crystalline or amorphous uric acid.

And since we have an expert on urine chemistry in the thread, is it Urea or something else that gives Urine it's characteristic yellow tint? And what are some of the benign chemicals that can lead to oddly colored urine?

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7 hours ago, Imouto Kitten said:

And now I kind of wonder what crystalline Uric Acid looks like on the macroscopic scale and if there could be such a thing as gem quality crystals of Uric acid and other minerals that can be deposited in urine. I think I remember reading somewhere that Uric acid is what makes bird poop white, but not sure if that's crystalline or amorphous uric acid.

And since we have an expert on urine chemistry in the thread, is it Urea or something else that gives Urine it's characteristic yellow tint? And what are some of the benign chemicals that can lead to oddly colored urine?

Urobilin is actually what give urine its yellow color. It's a product from normal breakdown of red blood cells (your body actively replaces 1% of your red blood cells on a daily basis). The reason the tinge of the yellow changes due to hydration is simply due to how concentrated urobilin is due to the lack (or excess) of water in your urine. As another fun fact, a related product from the breakdown of red blood cells called urobilinogen (which is also excreted in the urine in small amounts), is what gives poop its brown color.

 

As for chemicals, I don't know the exact reactions that cause it, but there are a few types of medication as well as some forms of birth control that I've seen cause green colored urine before. In general, though, with the exception of some form of contamination (like menstrual blood), if you see a urine color other than some shade of yellow (or clear), its more likely than not that there is some clinically significant issue.

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Guest Closed_Account

One of the phases of blood decomposition is green. From memory I think it's called bilioverdis or something (as opposed to biliorubin).

Also, some illnesses can make pee turn blue.

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12 hours ago, newp said:

As for chemicals, I don't know the exact reactions that cause it, but there are a few types of medication as well as some forms of birth control that I've seen cause green colored urine before. In general, though, with the exception of some form of contamination (like menstrual blood), if you see a urine color other than some shade of yellow (or clear), its more likely than not that there is some clinically significant issue.

Perhaps a more interesting question is which chemicals contribute to the smell of urine - does this ever tell you something of clinical importance? Do you ever pass the vapour through a gas chromatograph.

 The smell is quite distinctive (and erotic), and only seems to break down into ammonia later.

If you have to work with really unpleasant samples, maybe you should ask for a fume cupboard!

Edited by David_E (see edit history)
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Guest Closed_Account
On 10/27/2019 at 9:24 AM, David_E said:

Perhaps a more interesting question is which chemicals contribute to the smell of urine - does this ever tell you something of clinical importance? Do you ever pass the vapour through a gas chromatograph.

I know some medieval physicians used to observe, smell and taste their patient's urine samples as a measure of health.

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