Acanthocytes in Urine: Glomerular Kidney Disease and Hematuria Meaning
Acanthocytes in urine are abnormally shaped red blood cells that strongly suggest bleeding from the kidney’s glomeruli, the tiny filters that clean the blood....
Amorphous Crystals in Urine: Urates, Phosphates, pH, and Meaning
Amorphous crystals in urine are tiny mineral precipitates that look like fine, shapeless granules under the microscope. The two common types are amorphous urates,...
Bacteria in Urine Microscopy: UTI, Contamination, Colony Count, and Culture Follow-Up
Bacteria seen on urine microscopy can support a urinary tract infection, but the finding does not prove that an infection is present. Bacteria may...
Bilirubin Crystals in Urine: Liver Disease Marker and Abnormal Urine Sediment
Bilirubin crystals in urine are an uncommon abnormal sediment finding that usually appears when conjugated bilirubin is being excreted in substantial amounts. Under the...
Broad Casts in Urine: Advanced Kidney Disease and Low Urine Flow
Broad casts in urine are unusually wide cylindrical structures formed inside enlarged or damaged kidney tubules and collecting ducts. They are an abnormal microscopy...
Calcium Oxalate Crystals in Urine: Kidney Stones, Causes, and Meaning
Calcium oxalate crystals are common urine crystals and are the mineral found in most kidney stones, but seeing them on microscopy does not mean...
Calcium Phosphate Crystals in Urine: Kidney Stones, Alkaline Urine, and Meaning
Calcium phosphate crystals in urine usually mean that the urine environment favors precipitation of calcium and phosphate, especially when urine pH is high. A...
Cholesterol Crystals in Urine: Nephrotic Syndrome and Heavy Proteinuria
Cholesterol crystals in urine are an uncommon form of lipiduria and are most important when they appear with heavy protein loss from the kidneys....
Cystine Crystals in Urine: Cystinuria, Kidney Stones, and Genetic Risk
Cystine crystals in urine are an important finding because their classic hexagonal shape strongly points to cystinuria, an inherited disorder that causes excess cystine...
Drug Crystals in Urine: Medication Crystals, Kidney Risk, and Microscopy Findings
Drug crystals in urine are particles formed when a medication or one of its metabolites becomes concentrated enough to precipitate in the urinary tract....
Dysmorphic Red Blood Cells in Urine: Glomerular Hematuria and Kidney Filter Disease
Dysmorphic red blood cells in urine are abnormally shaped RBCs that can point to bleeding from the kidney’s glomeruli—the microscopic filters that normally keep...
Epithelial Cell Casts in Urine: Kidney Tubule Damage and Acute Tubular Injury
Epithelial cell casts in urine are tube-shaped structures containing renal tubular epithelial cells. Because urinary casts form inside kidney tubules, an epithelial cell cast...
Epithelial Cells in Urine Test: Squamous, Transitional, Renal Cells, and Contamination
Epithelial cells in urine are cells shed from surfaces that line the urinary and genital tracts. A small number is common, but the type...
Fatty Casts in Urine: Nephrotic Syndrome, Proteinuria, and Kidney Disease
Fatty casts are urinary casts that contain lipid droplets, lipid-filled cells, or both. They form inside kidney tubules and are classically associated with heavy...
Granular Casts in Urine: Kidney Tubule Injury, Acute Kidney Injury, and Meaning
Granular casts are tube-shaped structures in urine that contain fine or coarse cellular debris. A small number of nonspecific granular casts can appear after...
Hyaline Casts in Urine: Normal, High Levels, Dehydration, and Kidney Meaning
Hyaline casts are clear, nearly transparent protein casts that form inside kidney tubules. Unlike red blood cell, white blood cell, or epithelial casts, hyaline...