5. Artifacts and Mucus
- Page ID
- 70194
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5.1 Mucus
Morphology: Thread-like appearance that varies in length. Low refractive index.
Helpful Hint: Typically quantified on 10X but low light is needed due to low refractive index. Can often be misidentified as casts, thus it is important to look for the parallel sides of the cast matrix. More frequently seen in female specimens than male specimens.
Mucus \(\PageIndex{1}\)
5.2 Artifacts
Artifacts are contaminates found in urine, typically due to improper collection, contaminated containers or products applied to outer genitalia. The most common artifacts seen are starch (found in baby powders, feminine powders), Fibers (clothing, toilet paper), talc powder, pollen grains and air bubbles. In most labs artifacts are not quantified, but may be noted as "present" on the microscopic evaluation.
5.2.A Talc
Morphology: Clear, flat, irregular sheets of varying sizes.
Helpful Hint: Don't confuse these with Cholesterol crystals. To differentiate, use a polarizer- Cholesterol crystals with polarize but talc will not. Cholesterol crystals also have flat sides with notches on the corners.
Talc \(\PageIndex{1}\)
5.2.B Fiber
Morphology: Distinct edges, refractile, long, look similar to casts, some are birefringent
Helpful hint: Fibers are often confused for casts. Typically the edges of the fiber are darker (they have more contrast) than a cast and they are more refractile.
Fiber \(\PageIndex{1}\)
5.2.C Starch
Morphology: Slightly round with a center indentation (larger crystals). The indentation looks like a "Y" or like a belly button. Crystals very in size and are birefringent.
Helpful hint: Starch crystals are birefringent and exhibit a pseudo-maltese cross formation under a polarizer.
Starch \(\PageIndex{1}\)