URINARY DEPOSITS. 



In examining a specimen of urine it is desirable to have 

 the whole quantity passed in the twenty-four hours. If, how- 

 ever, the presence or absence of any particular substance be all 

 that is desired then a few ounces passed at any time will suf- 

 fice. The urine should be examined within a few hours after 

 its secretion, although a second examination is many times im- 

 portant after the urine has been allowed to stand eighteen or 

 twenty-four hours. Four or five ounces of the urine should 

 be poured into a tall, cylindrical glass vessel, and allowed to 

 remain for a sufficient time to allow any deposit to subside. 

 The deposit is best removed by means of a pipette or glass 

 tube. The usual magnifying powers are all that is required. 

 A power of 25 diameters to distinguish the large uric acid 

 crystals and a power of 400 diameters to see the small octa- 

 hedra of oxalate of lime. 



The examiner should first make note of the whole amount 

 passed in the twenty- four hours, remembering that in health 

 even there is a wide limit. It may be said to range from 

 thirty to sixty ounces, or .even a greater range, about fifty 

 ounces being the average. 



The color of healthy urine varies from a pale-yellow to a 

 reddish-yellow, red, or brown ; or it may be almost colorless, 

 like water. The pale urine is generally neutral or alkaline in 

 reaction and is frequently observed in perfect health after 

 copious drinking. High colored urine is more usually acid in 

 reaction and has a greater amount of solid constituents. This 

 occurs in perfect health when the amount of water excreted 

 by the kidneys is diminished, as after profuse perspiration, or 

 after hearty meals. It is the kind of urine found in nearly all 

 febrile diseases. As abnormal coloring agents to the urine there 

 are the blood and bile pigments, indican, urohaematin, and 



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