Urine osmolality
Urine Osmolality
Urine osmolality (pronounced: yoo-reen oz-mo-lal-i-tee) is a measure of the number of dissolved particles per unit of water in the urine. It is a useful test in determining how well the kidneys are diluting or concentrating urine.
Etymology
The term "osmolality" is derived from the Greek words "osmos" meaning impulse or push, and "allo" meaning other. It refers to the force or pressure necessary to maintain an equilibrium of fluid concentrations across a semipermeable membrane.
Definition
Urine osmolality is a measure of the concentration of solutes in urine. It is a more precise measurement than specific gravity and is used to evaluate the ability of the kidneys to concentrate or dilute urine. The normal range for urine osmolality is 500 to 800 milliosmoles per kilogram (mOsm/kg) in a random urine sample.
Test
A urine osmolality test is used to measure the number of dissolved particles in urine. It is often used in conjunction with other tests to diagnose disorders of the kidney or ADH (antidiuretic hormone).
Related Terms
- Osmolality: The concentration of a solution expressed as the total number of solute particles per kilogram.
- Osmolarity: The concentration of a solution expressed as the total number of solute particles per liter.
- Specific gravity: A measure of the concentration of solutes in a solution, it is a comparison to the density of pure water.
- ADH (antidiuretic hormone): A hormone that helps your kidneys manage the amount of water in your body.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Urine osmolality
- Wikipedia's article - Urine osmolality
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski