From Canvas (Diagnostic Test Vocabulary) - Unit 12: The Urinary System

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN)

A diagnostic blood test performed to determine the exact amount of urea and nitrogen present in the blood, which are waste products normally excreted by healthy kidneys.

Creatinine Clearance Test

A diagnostic test for kidney function that measures the filtration rate of creatinine, which is a waste product of muscle metabolism that is normally removed from the body by the kidneys.

Cystometrography

An examination performed to evaluate urinary bladder tone by measuring internal bladder pressure during both the filling and voiding processes.

Cystoscopy

The process of viewing and examining the interior of the urinary bladder using a specialized instrument called a cystoscope.

Cystogram

A radiographic record or X-ray image of the urinary bladder.

Intravenous Pyelogram

A radiographic procedure that provides detailed visualization of the entire urinary tract, including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Contrast dye is injected intravenously, and multiple X-ray films are taken as the medium is cleared from the blood by the kidneys.

KUB (Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder)

An X-ray of the lower abdomen that defines the size, shape, and location of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder without the use of a contrast medium.

Renal Angiography

An X-ray visualization of the internal anatomy of the renal blood vessels after the injection of a contrast medium.

Renal Scan

A diagnostic procedure where a radioactive isotope (tracer) is injected intravenously, and the radioactivity over each kidney is measured as the tracer passes through the renal tissue.

Retrograde Pyelogram (RP)

A radiographic procedure in which small-caliber catheters are passed through a cystoscope up into the ureters to visualize the ureters and the renal pelvis.

Ultrasonography

A diagnostic procedure in which high-frequency sound waves are transmitted into body structures as a small transducer is passed over the patient’s skin. It is also called an ultrasound.

Urinalysis (UA)

A highly valuable laboratory diagnostic tool that evaluates the physical, chemical, and microscopic properties of urine. Abnormal conditions or diseases can be quickly detected because the constituents of normal urine are constant. A freshly voided urine specimen provides the most accurate test results, though a specimen must be collected via catheterization when a bacteriologic culture is to be done.

Urine Culture

A procedure used to cultivate the growth of bacteria present in a urine specimen for proper microscopic identification of a specific pathogen. A sample is swabbed onto a culture medium plate, placed in an incubator for 24 to 72 hours, and then examined for bacterial growth.

24-Hour Urine Specimen

The collection of all urine excreted by an individual over a continuous 24-hour period into one large container. This is also called a composite urine specimen.

Voiding Cystourethrography

An X-ray visualization of the bladder and the urethra during the actual voiding (urination) process, after the bladder has been filled with a contrast material.

Catheterized Specimen

A urine specimen, also known as a sterile specimen, obtained using aseptic techniques by inserting a very small, straight catheter through the urethra directly into the bladder to withdraw urine into a sterile container.

Clean-Catch Specimen

A midstream urine collection method used to avoid contamination of the specimen from microorganisms normally present on the external genitalia. The patient cleanses the external genitalia with an antiseptic wipe, expels a small amount of urine into the toilet, and then collects the remaining specimen in a sterile container.

First-Voided Specimen

A urine specimen, also known as an early-morning specimen, where the patient is instructed to collect the very first void of the morning. The specimen should be kept refrigerated until it can be taken to the medical office or laboratory.

Random Specimen

A standard urine specimen that is collected at any time of the day.

Residual Urine Specimen

A urine specimen obtained by catheterization immediately after a patient empties the bladder by normal voiding. The amount of urine remaining in the bladder is recorded as the residual amount.