page_title: Urine
section_title: Color
hierarchical_section_title: Urine / Characteristics / Color
caption_attribution_description: English: This part of the manuscript contains an assortment of texts about astrology and medicine. This combination was common in manuscripts all over Europe by the fifteenth century. To people in the Middle Ages there was close link between the time of year, the moon's seasons and other astrological factors and health and medical treatment, as they would affect the body's humours.
context_page_description: Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra.
  Cellular metabolism generates many by-products that are rich in nitrogen and must be cleared from the bloodstream, such as urea, uric acid, and creatinine. These by-products are expelled from the body during urination, which is the primary method for excreting water-soluble chemicals from the body. A urinalysis can detect nitrogenous wastes of the mammalian body.
  Urine has a role in the earth's nitrogen cycle. In balanced ecosystems, urine fertilizes the soil and thus helps plants to grow. Therefore, urine can be used as a fertilizer. Some animals use it to mark their territories. Historically, aged or fermented urine was also used for gunpowder production, household cleaning, tanning of leather and dyeing of textiles.
  Human urine and feces are collectively referred to as human waste or human excreta, and are managed via sanitation systems. Livestock urine and feces also require proper management if the livestock population density is high.
context_section_description: Urine varies in appearance, depending principally upon a body's level of hydration, as well as other factors. Normal urine is a transparent solution ranging from colorless to amber but is usually a pale yellow. In the urine of a healthy individual, the color comes primarily from the presence of urobilin. Urobilin is a final waste product resulting from the breakdown of heme from hemoglobin during the destruction of aging blood cells.
  Colorless urine indicates over-hydration, generally preferable to dehydration (though it can remove essential salts from the body). Colorless urine in drug tests can suggest an attempt to avoid detection of illicit drugs in the bloodstream through over-hydration.
  Dark yellow urine is often indicative of dehydration.
  Yellowing/light orange may be caused by removal of excess B vitamins from the bloodstream.
  Certain medications such as rifampin and phenazopyridine can cause orange urine.
  Bloody urine is termed hematuria, a symptom of a wide variety of medical conditions.
  Dark orange to brown urine can be a symptom of jaundice, rhabdomyolysis, or Gilbert's syndrome.
  Black or dark-colored urine is referred to as melanuria and may be caused by a melanoma or non-melanin acute intermittent porphyria.
  Pinkish urine can result from the consumption of beets.
  Greenish urine can result from the consumption of asparagus or foods or beverages with green dyes.
  Reddish or brown urine may be caused by porphyria (not to be confused with the harmless, temporary pink or reddish tint caused by beeturia).
  Blue urine can be caused by the ingestion of methylene blue (e.g., in medications) or foods or beverages with blue dyes.
  Blue urine stains can be caused by blue diaper syndrome.
  Purple urine may be due to purple urine bag syndrome.
caption: Medical experts have long connected urine colour with certain medical conditions. A medieval chart showing the medical implications of different urine color
exif: {"Image Copyright": "NLW"}