Urine is liquid produced by an animal's or human's kidney, collected in the bladder and excreted through the urethra. Urine is used to extract excess minerals or vitamins as well as blood corpuscles from the body. A range of other substances, inclunding alcohol and artificial sweeteners, are also extracted through the bladder Urine can also play a role in sexual behaviour.

Composition

Healthy urine is a clear aqueous solution, varying in colour from dark yellow to colourless, depending on the dilution. The main constituent besides water is urea, urochrome is the pigment that gives urine its color. Urea is one of the three nitrogenous waste products. The other two are creatinine and uric acid. Urine also contains various inorganic ions, including sodium and chrloride. Lighter urine indicates higher water consumption.

Diagnostic uses

As well as removing waste from the body, urine can be examined to determine many medical conditions concerning the bladder, kidneys, and even metabolic functions of the body.

The presence of sugar in the urine indicates the possibility of diabetes mellitus. Albumin in the urine suggests renal disease or damage.

Urine may be examined under a microscope to examine white blood cells and red blood cells to denote abnormal blood in the urine (known as hematuria), or bacteria denoting an infection (usually in conjunction with white blood cells). Pollen can also be detected.

Urinary casts can also be observed, and depending on their classification, they can indicate kidney degeneration or failure. Red blood cell casts will prove whether blood in the urine originates from the kidney.

The most common pregnancy tests are simple urine analysis devices.

Health

Fresh urine is sterile and may be used as an antiseptic - for the sterilization, the urine has to flow directly from the urethra onto the wound. It is important to know that once the urine has left the body, it becomes an ideal breeding ground for a wide range of quasi omnipresent bacteria, which multiply in it at an astonishing speed. Urine which is older than a minute is not anymore suitable for consumption, and should not even be taken for exterior use.

Urine is absorbed into the body quicker than water or juices through the stomach, which makes it a natural choice for recovering desiccated patients in the absence of technologically more advanced methods.

The alternative medicine of homeopathy has rediscovered a range of other uses for urine, ranging from the direct treatment of skin to the consumption of urine.

Other uses

Some animals, such as cats and dogs, spray urine on objects to mark their territory or property.

Taking advantage of the scents of those animals' urine, some companies sell animal urine, usually coyote or fox to cities and other organizations to prevent their trees from being stolen for use as Christmas trees.

Many drug tests are done on urine.

Body fluids | Urine

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