Uric acid crystals

Source

Jérémie Gras, M.D., Clinique Saint-Luc Bouge, Namur, Belgium

Description

Uric acid crystals with unusual shapes (arrowheads) (urinary pH 5.5). The identification of these very unusual and rare particles as uric acid crystals is based on the following pieces of evidence: 1. Their occurrence in a urine with acidic pH. 2. Their presence in a sample also containing common uric acid crystals. 3. Their classification among uric acid crystals in different monographs on urinary sediments published in different historical periods, as it has turned out from a careful review of 65 monographs on urinary sediments (51 for the period 1843-1977 and 14 for the period 1980-2013): Beale LS. Kidney Diseases, Urinary Deposits and Calculous Disorders 3rd edition (page unnumbered, plate XXX, fig. 161). Philadelphia, Lindsay and Blakiston, 1869. Piccoli G, Varese D, Rotunno M. Atlas of Urinary Sediments: Diagnosis and Clinical Correlations in Nephrology (page 133, fig. 261b). New York, Raven Press, 1984. Haber MH, Blomberg D, Galagan K, Glassy EF, Ward PCJ. Color Atlas of the Urinary Sediment. An Illustrated Field Guide Based on Proficiency Testing (page 278, fig. CM-15, 2005) Northfield, Cap Press, 2010.

Keywords

CRY