Lecture 9 Identification of Urine, Sweat, Fecal Matter, Vomitus

Nephron

The functional unit of the kidney responsible for urine formation, consisting of the glomerulus, Bowman’s capsule, and renal tubule.

Urea

The most abundant waste product found in urine, formed during protein metabolism.

Filtration

The process in urine formation where blood is filtered in the nephrons to remove waste.

Presumptive Assays

Initial tests that determine the possible presence of a substance, such as urine or sweat.

Para-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (DMAC) assay

A specific test that reacts with urea, used to identify its presence in biological samples.

Urease assay

A test that detects ammonia produced during the breakdown of urea by ureases, using indicators like bromthymol blue.

Jaffe color test

A method that converts creatine to creatinine using picric acid, producing a bright red product.

Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP)

The most abundant protein in urine, used as a specific biomarker in confirmative assays.

Dermcidin

An antimicrobial peptide identified as a potential biomarker for sweat, detected with ELISA or mRNA assays.

Urobilinoids

Compounds formed during the degradation of heme, which can be detected in fecal matter.

Microscopic examination

A method used to identify smaller components, such as bacteria or crystals in bodily fluids.

Pepsin

An enzyme in gastric fluid that cleaves polypeptides at specific amino acid sites, used to identify vomitus.