Microscopical Examination

Centrifuge fresh urine at low speed (1500rpm) for 10 minutes. Discard the supernatant and make the deposit emulsion by slow swirling. Take one drop of the emulsion on a glass slide and cover by a cover-slip. Examine microscopically with low and high power objectives. To detect malignant cells, urine deposit requires staining by Pap stain. The structure of some crystals and casts in urinary deposit as seen microscopically.



Organic Deposits In Urine

                                                                                                                                                            Epithelial Cells: Large, nucleated and usually squamous epithelial cell-found in normal urine. Large numbers are found when there is inflamation of urinary tract infection.Reported as nos./high power field.

Epithelial cell


White cells or pus cells: They are found in groups, contain granules especially in urinary tract infection and gonorrhoea. Normal urine may contain a few cells. Reported as the nos./high power field.

Pus Cell

RBC: As they have no granules, so can be distinguished easily from the pus cells. RBCs are not normally seen in urine but may be present in urinary tract infection, calculi, sickle cells anaemia, haematuria, etc.

RBC cell

Casts: Casts are developed by precipitation and coagulation of proteins leaking through the glomerulus in the tubule and thus take tortuous shape of tubules. They also contain thread-like material composed of mucoprotein. Increased number of casts indicates renal diseases of lower urinary tract. Four types of casts namely granular cast, hyaline cast, cellular cast (RBC cast, WBC cast, epithelial cast) and waxy or fatty cast. 

Granular casts: These contain closely packed granules of varying degrees of coarseness. Usually present in nephritis and nephrosis.

Granular cast

Hyaline casts: They have a pale, transparent, homogenous structure and cylindrical in shape and contain no cell. These casts are noticed in increased numbers of albuminuria.
Hyaline cast

Waxy cast or fatty cast: Protein casts containing retractile fat droplets are known as fatty casts. They are not normally found, only present when there is a severe degeneration or tubular epithelium.

Waxy or fatty cast

Spermatozoa: They are occasionally found in the urines of males. Theirs presence bears no pathological significance.
Spermatozoa

Parasites: Parasites are only rarely present in urine. The filarial worms or larvae may be found in urine, and occasionally trichomonas vaginalis is present in female urine.

Parasite- Trichomona Vaginalis


Bacteria: Normal urine is free from bacteria. Presence of bacteria in the centrifuged deposit of fresh urine indicates some infection.

Bacteria