Urinalysis

The urinalysis is one of the oldest biological fluid examinations in human history. For many years the procedure was performed manually. Now most clinical laboratories use high-throughput automated systems that are equipped with a spectrophotometer to read the color of the dipstick and with a video camera that photographs the formed elements (using digital imaging software to classify them for verification by the operator) and/or a flow cytometer (for object-sizing) (Oyaert and Delanghe, Ann Lab Med 39:15–22, 2019). Nonetheless, manual urinalysis is still performed in many instances, particularly in office laboratories, and an understanding of the procedure and its interpretation is important.