globe university

Urine Cell Book

Stephanie McCutcheon

Red Blood Cells (RBC)

Appear pale looking Smooth looking

Disk shaped or donut shaped

White Blood Cells(WBC)

Larger than Red Blood Cells Appear granular Visible nucleus

Epithelial Cells (epi cells)

Squamous cells the most common

Small, round nucleus Nucleus with dense nuclear chromatin

Appear large and flat

Bacteria

Appear round (cocci) or rod (bacilli) shaped Appear singly or in groups, clusters, pairs or chains

Variable length

Waxy Cast

Broad or stubby with blunt ends (ends may appear broken off) Well defined parallel margins

Colorless or waxy yellow interior Irregular outlines

Hyaline Cast

Colorless, homogeneous and transparent Low refractive index

Smooth or finely wrinkled surface May appear tortuous or coiled

Granular Cast

May contain many fine or coarse granules Granules are most often evenly dispersed over the

cast but may be confined to one area or loosely scattered

Yeast

Smaller than RBC’s Budding or chains

Uric Acid Crystals

Usually yellow to brown in color Four-sided, flat, and whetstone

Vary in size and shape

Six-sided plates, needles, lemon-shaped forms, spears, clubs, wedge shapes and star

Calcium Oxalate Crystals

Vary in size and may be much smaller than RBC’s Colorless octahedrons

Resemble stars or envelopes Appear in many shapes

Triple Phosphate Crystals

Typically colorless Four-armed, feathery appearance

Highly retractile prisms

Amorphous

Pink in the urine container Yellowish under the microscope

Fine granules with no specific shape