Urine Sample
If you took a Westie's urine to a vet to be
checked, it would be sent to a laboratory. What might the
lab technician be
looking for? The technician
would look for Protein, Acidity, presence or absence of blood, bile
substances, ketones, sugar and concentration of the urine.
Right away the technician could rule out diabetes
mellitus if there was no sugar showing up in the urine. If the urine
concentration (called Specific Gravity) is higher than normal this might
indicate that the kidneys are working hard trying to conserve water in the
dogs body there is little chance of kidney problems, dogs with kidney
failure almost always have very un concentrated urine (very low Specific
Gravity).
Next the technician would take a small amount of urine
and spin it in a centrifuge to cause the solid components of the urine to
settle to the bottom of the test tube. This sediment is then examined under
a microscope revealing types of white blood cell called neutrophiles, and a
number of red blood cells and bacteria.
From this urine sample a lot can be learned and it may
be possible to diagnose a problem. Sometimes other tests will be required to
confirm something, like a blood sample.
This is brief look at the urine sample and may give
you some idea to why a urine sample has been requested, this information
does not try to diagnose any problems, but just to give in insight into
sample testing.
Should your Westie be ill, you should take him/her to
a vet as soon as possible, and not try and make any diagnosis yourself, an
incorrect diagnoses could endanger the health of your dog.
DNA
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