Acidic urine crystals

Uric acid
By product of purine breakdown
Forms in acidic urine typically in urine with a
pH of <5.5
Is soluble in alkaline urine
Usually amber in color
Irregularly shaped (barrels, rosettes,
rhomboids, needles or hexagonal plates)
Normal values: 250750milligrams (mg)per
24-hour urine sample or 1.484.43millimoles (
mmol)per 24-hour urine sample
Higher values in male

High values
High uric acid levels may be caused by conditions such as:
Kidney disease or kidney damage.
Some types of cancer (includingleukemia,lymphoma, and
multiple myeloma) or cancer treatments.
Hemolytic anemia,sickle cell anemia, orheart failure.
Disorders such asalcohol dependence,pre-eclampsia, liver
disease (cirrhosis),lipid disorders,obesity,psoriasis,
hypothyroidism, and low blood levels of
parathyroid hormone.
Starvation, malnutrition, orlead poisoning.
A rare inherited gene disorder called Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
(juvinile gout)

 High levels may also be caused by:

Certain medicines. These include somediuretics, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), lower
doses of aspirin (75 to 80 mg aspirin daily), niacin, and some medicines used to treat
leukemia, lymphoma, andtuberculosis.
Contrast materialused for someX-raytests.
Eating foods that are very high inpurines. These include organ meats (liver, brains),
red meats (beef, lamb), game meat (deer, elk), and some seafood (sardines, herring,
scallops).
Drinking a lot of alcohol, especially beer.
Low values
Low uric acid levels may be caused by:
Gout.
Kidney damage or disease.
Folic aciddeficiency or lead poisoning.
Not eating enough protein.
Some medicines, such as allopurinol,insulin, some diuretics, and high levels of
aspirin.
Drinking alcohol during the collection period.

Amorphous urates
These are breakdown metobolite of
uric acidand a normal byproduct of
body metabolism.
May develop when urine is refrigerated
Appears as pink (brick dust) after
centrifugation it may appear yellow or
brown
Insoluble in acetic acid (may convert to
uric acid by acidification)

 (pinkish) granular appearance.

In urine with uric acid in it,
amorphous urates will precipitate out
of solutionupon refrigeration.
They appear as a
heavypinksediment and impart
acloudy to turbidappearance of
the mixed urine.Amorphous
urates will re-solubilize when
heated at 60oC

Calcium oxalate
Calcium Oxlalate crystals arenormalin
urine.
Appearance:colorless, many forms:
Dihydrate: octahedral ("envelope")
ismost common
Monohydrate: dumbbell, ovoid, or
rectangular in shape.
Associated with food high in oxalate (tomatoes,
asparagus, ascorbic acid), Calcium oxalate is
themajor component of renal
calculi.Monohydrate calcium oxalate crystals are
often seen inethylene glycol poisoning.

 If your oxalate levels are too high, the extra oxalate can
combine with calcium to form kidney stones
Calcium oxalate crystals are usually found in acidic urine.
They mayoccur as either bihydrated or monohydrated
calcium oxalate. Calciumoxalate bihydrate crystals
appear as colorless bipyramids of varioussizes
(envelope form, above left). Calcium oxalate
monohydratecrystals are colorless and can assume
several shapes, includingovoids, biconcave disks, rods
and dumbbells (above right, yellowarrows). They can be
seen in normal individuals with high dietaryoxalate
ingestion, in patients with nephrolithiasis, and in patients
withacute renal failure due to ethylene glycol ingestion.