what is urine osmolality
urine osmolality is used to measure the number of dissolved particles per unit of water in the urine as a measure of urine concentration it is more accurate than specific gravity urine osmolality is useful in diagnosing disorders of urinary concentration such diabetes insipidous and in assessing hydration status comparison of the urine osmolality to the serum osmolality yields additional information about water handling by the kidney or abnormalities of urine concentration or dilution as does electrolyte studies typically the ratio of urine osmolality to serum osmolality is 1 3