Urinalysis.

Today, Liz posted a special recipe on her blog just for me! How sweet :)

Also today, I learned how to properly preform a urinalysis. I had to pee in a cup four times over the course of two hours in order to practice assessing the urine (for both color and odor) and to practice using a dipstick. A dipstick is a strip of paper with multiple different markers or enzymes attached in different bands along the dipstick. Each band on dipstick tests the urine sample for the presence of a particular compound (e.g. glucose, blood, proteins, leukocytes, and bilirubin) and it turns a different color or shade to reflect the amount of the particular compound in the urine sample. A dipstick also measures the pH of the urine. By monitoring these compounds, the overall health of the patient can be monitored. However, as I learned in today's Physiology lab, the results of the dipstick test can be altered depending on level of hydration, menstrual cycles, alcohol, coffee, vitamin C levels, and strenuous exercise.