MORBID CONDITION OF THE UEINE 



1042. It is nearly always more or less turbid in appearance, sometimes 

 actually muddy. If healthy urine be allowed to stand, a copious sediment 

 of earthy-looking matter falls to the bottom of the vessel. A small 

 quantity of this placed under the microscope is found to consist of minute 

 crystals of carbonate of lime (fig. 134). 



A few drops of nitric acid added to horses' urine decomposes the car- 

 bonate of lime and causes the fluid to effervesce, just as when tartaric 

 acid is added to carbonate of soda. As a result of this, the sediment 

 disappears and the urine becomes bright and clear. 



In disease the urine is liable to undergo very striking alterations in 

 its physical characters, as well as in its chemical con^Dosition, and in these 

 connections it sometimes ,, 



affords valuable assistance, [ i/ 



not only in locating a ^^ y { 

 disorder, but likewise in 

 determining its nature. 



Colour.— In a healthy 

 condition the urine pre- 

 sents a bright yellowish 

 hue. When, as is some- 

 times the case, carbonate 

 of lime is very abundant, 

 the fluid wears a distinctly 

 muddy appearance. 



Change of colour as the 

 result of disease may be 

 brought about by various morbid conditions of the urinary and other 

 organs. 



In polyuria, or profuse staling, it loses its yellow appearance and 

 becomes pale and watery in appearance, and the same change is observed 

 in debility and in some forms of disease of the kidney. 



In all febrile diseases the colour of the urine becomes heightened, with 

 a, tendency to assume a reddish-yellow appearance. This is most notice- 

 able after standing for a short time, when the carbonate of lime held in 

 suspension has subsided to the bottom of the vessel and the turbidity 

 has cleared off. 



Bile imparts to urine a deep brownish-yellow hue, which denotes the 

 existence of liver derangement in one or other of its various forms. 



Blood gives to this fluid a red or smoky-red appearance, and denotes 

 disease associated with rupture of blood-vessels either in the kidneys, the 

 bladder, the ureters, or the urethra. Its presence is recognized by 



F B C 



Fig. 140.— Blood Corpuscles and Leucocytes 



Red corpuscles. B, Side view of a red corpuscle. C, Red 

 corpuscle seen edgeways. D, E, F, Leucocytes. 



