A guide to the examination of the urine : designed chiefly for the use of clinical clerks and students / By J. Wickham Legg, M.D.

  • John Wickham Legg
Date:
1872
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A guide to the examination of the urine : designed chiefly for the use of clinical clerks and students / By J. Wickham Legg, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    COLOUE OF UUINK. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION. The ]ilivsical examination of the nrine is the application of the senses to its investigation with- out the employment of chemical or microscopical aids. The colom-, translucency, odour^ and con- sistence are the only characters which can be ascertained by this simple method of observation. Colour. Urine is ordinarily of a reddish yellow colour; but it may be as colourless as water, or dark brown black like porter : a smoky tint is absolutely diagnostic of the presence of blood; a brownish green suggests the presence of the co- louring matter of the bile. Many di-ugs, as rhu- barbj saffron, and santonine, give a peculiar colour to the nrine. The carbolic acid treatment of wounds colours the urine black. Tannin given by the mouth renders the urine colourless. A pale urine is seen in health, as the itriiia jjotus ; and in disease, in ansemia, diabetes, and conva- lescence from acute diseases. A pale urine contains little colouring matter, and but a small proportion of solid constituents, always excepting, however, the urine of diabetes mellitus. A pale urine is a sign that the patient is not suffering any high de- b2