The fascinating history of urine examination

Examination of urine has fascinated people since the beginning of recorded history. It is arguably the oldest medical test and marks the beginning of laboratory medicine. Examination of urine, urinalysis, is still important today in evaluation of many pathologic conditions, including diabetes mellitus, infections, renal and inherited diseases, as well as genitourinary tract cancer. Although urine cytology is simple, safe, and inexpensive, it has poor sensitivity, especially for low-grade neoplasms. This shortcoming has led to a proliferation of new diagnostic techniques for evaluation of urine samples. Examination of urine has come a long way, from uroscopy to microscopy, and now to molecular testing. Although the new era of tumor markers looks promising, for now it still needs the help of “good old cytology.”