Pathology of the urinary system

3) Crystal precipitates (crystaluria)

 

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common in some forms of nephrosis, e.g. urates, oxalates, ethylene glycol, sulfa toxicity, etc.; 

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dehydration facilitates deposition in renal tubules (e.g. urate crystals in neonatal pigs with scours; 

pigs apparently are unique among mammals in that they do not reabsorb urates from glomerular 

filtrate); 

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most crystals are readily visible by microscopy (especially with polarized light); moreover, their 

presence in urine can represent an important diagnostic tool in the live patient.