Urinalysis and Body Fluids 6th Edition by Majorie DiLorenzo, Susan Strasinger

Exercise 35

List and identify the normal crystals found in acidic urine.

Step 1 of 2

Normal crystals that are identified in the acidic urine are as follows:

Uric acid crystals:

They appear in urine when pH is low and they are normal crystals of urine.

• Their shapes include four-sided flat plates, rhombic, rosettes, and wedges

• They are yellow-brown in color

• Under polarized light, they exhibit birefringent that helps to discriminate from cystine crystals

Amorphous urates:

They are yellow-brown granules.

• They occur with other sediments and resemble granular casts

• Specimens, which are refrigerated, forms amorphous urates crystals with pink color

• At pH greater than 5.5, they appear in urine