The purpose of a urine sediment analysis is to examine the solid particles (cellular and non-cellular components) present in the urine after centrifugation. This helps in diagnosing various conditions, such as kidney diseases, urinary tract infections, and metabolic disorders.

The sediment is examined at 400x magnification (=1 field of view). The most commonly used techniques are brightfield, phase-contrast, and polarization. These different techniques allow certain structures to be more visible or distinguishable; for example, hyaline casts are barely visible with brightfield microscopy but are clearly seen with phase contrast. Where available, this online reference offers the possibility to view different elements with these techniques.

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