Also called: UA · Urine Analysis · Urine Test
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Urinalysis
A urinalysis is a test of your urine. It is often done to check for a urinary tract infection, kidney problems, or diabetes. You may also have one during a checkup, if you are admitted to the hospital, before you have surgery, or if you are pregnant. It can also monitor some medical conditions and treatments.
A urinalysis involves checking the urine for:
- Its color
- Its appearance (whether it is clear or cloudy)
- Any odor
- The pH level (acidity)
- Whether there are substances that are not normally in urine, such as blood, too much protein, glucose, ketones, and bilirubin
- Whether there are cells, crystals, and casts (tube-shaped proteins)
- Whether it contains bacteria or other germs
It sits within Kidneys and Urinary System and Diagnostic Tests.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Urinalysis
72 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Study to Assess the Impact of the Urine Test Cxbladder Triage Plus on the Number of Cystoscopies Performed on Patients With Invisible Blood in Their Urine.Pacific Edge Limited
- Urine HPV Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Living With HIV in South AfricaUNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
- A Study of a Urine Test to Detect Colorectal CancerMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- CercaTest™ Red Urine Test for Predicting PreeclampsiaChinese University of Hong Kong
- Replacing Invasive Cystoscopy With Urine Testing for Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer SurveillanceWhite River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- AFU Registry of the Therapeutic Management and Follow-up of Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder CancerAssociation Francaise d'Urologie
Research already completed
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Methadone Maintenance Therapy Combined With Methamphetamine AbuseShanghai Mental Health Center
- PrEP Point-of-Care Brief-Intervention for Adherence Among Young Men Who Have Sex With MenUniversity of California, San Francisco
- Do Dynamic Urinary Leukocyte and Nitrite Changes Improve Risk Prediction for Infectious Complications Following PCNL?The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University
- Point-of-care Urine Monitoring of Adherence: Testing a Real-Time Urine Assay of Tenofovir in PrEPUniversity of California, San Francisco
- Clinical Effectiveness and Bacteriological Eradication of 4 Short-course Antibiotics for Uncomplicated UTIs in Women.Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina
- Study of Combined VisioCyt Test and FGFR3 Mutations on a Urinary Sample to Diagnose Bladder TumorsInstitut de Cancérologie de Lorraine
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- UrinalysisMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Diagnosis and Tests
- Epithelial Cells in UrineNational Library of Medicine
- Mucus in UrineNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: UrinalysisNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Urinalysis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Urinalysis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.