Lab Procedures - Urinalysis

Lab Procedures

Urinalysis

Assistant’s Role

• Collecting voided samples

• Restraint when other methods are used to obtain a sample.

• Gross examination of a sample.

• Clinical strip tests.

• Preparing slides for microscopic examination.

Urine Collection

• Voided sample - collected as the animal is urinating. Should be collected midstream, the container must be sterile, the only type of collection that the assistant can perform.

• Bladder expression - Bladder is palpated and manually expressed of urine with pressure.

• Catheterization - This is when the veterinarian places a plastic tube, known as a catheter, into the dog's penile urethra or vulva urethra. 

• Cystocentesis - A sterile needle is passed through the abdominal wall into a full bladder and urine is withdrawn directly into the sterile syringe. 

Gross Examination

• Color - Normal is shades of yellow

• Clarity and consistency - Clear, cloudy, flocculent (containing particles)

• Odor - Ammonia, Sweet, fruity

• Presence of foam - When shaken produces a small amount of white foam.

Urine Specific Gravity

• Weight of the liquid.

• Measured with a refractometer.

• Normal Urine specific gravity for a dog - 1.013 - 1.030

• Normal Urine specific gravity for a cat - 1.013 - 1.050

Chemical Test Strips

• Evaluate chemical properties using a reagent strip.

• The strip is dipped in urine and color changes are evaluated against the key on the bottle.

Multiple Choice

When performing a gross examination on a urine sample you would describe clarity and consistency with these choices: clear, cloudy, or flocculent. What does flocculent mean?

• foamy

• containing particles

• yellow

• sweet smelling

Multiple Choice

Normal urine color in most animal species is various shades of?

• Yellow

• Red

• Orange

• Brown

Multiple Choice

The only type of urine collection that an assistant can perform.

• Catheterization

• Cystocentesis

• Voided

• Manual expression

Multiple Choice

If a urinalysis cannot be done immediately after collection, the sample can be kept in the refrigerator.

What must be done with the sample before testing is started?

• Shake it up

• Nothing

• Brought to room temperature.

• Transferred to another container