UG Aid

Crystals in Alkaline Urine These are as under : i. Amorphous phosphate ii. Triple phosphate iii. Calcium carbonate iv. Ammonium biurate i) Amorphous Phosphate They are seen as colourless granules in the form of clumps or irregular aggregates .They dissolve when urine is made acidic. ii) Triple Phosphate They are in the form of prisms and sometimes in fern leaf pattern .They dissolve when urine is made acidic. iii) Calcium Carbonate They are in the form of granules, spheres or rarely dumbbell-shaped. They again dissolve in acidic urine. iv) Ammonium Biurate They are round or oval yellowish-brown spheres with thorns on their surface giving ‘thorn apple’ appearance . They dissolve on heating the urine or by making it acidic.

Crystals Formation and appearance of crystals in urine depends upon pH of the urine, i.e. acidic or alkaline. Crystals in Acidic Urine  These are as under : i. Calcium oxalate ii. Uric acid iii. Amorphous urate iv. Tyrosine v. Cystine vi. Cholesterol crystals vii. Sulphonamide i) Calcium Oxalate These are colourless refractile and have octahedral envelope-like structure. They can also be dumb-bell shaped ii) Uric Acid They are yellow or brown rhomboid-shaped seen singly or in rosettes. They can also be in the form of prism, plates and sheaves iii ) Amorphous Urate They appear as yellowish brown granules in the form of clumps. They dissolve on heating. When they are made of sodium urate, they are needle-like in the form of thorn-apple. They are passed more often in patients having gout. iv ) Tyrosine They are yellowish in the form of silky needles or sheaves .They are passed in urine in jaundice. v) Cyst