Epithelial Cells In Urine
Epithelial Cells: Epithelial cells are cells that come from levels of your body, such as your skin, blood ocean liners, urinary tract, or organs. They serve as a barrier between the inside and outside of your body, and preserve it from viruses.
A small number of epithelial cells in your urine is traditional. A large number may be a sign of infection, kidney stroke, or another serious medical condition. For that reason, your specialist may order a urine test or urinalysis to view your urine under a microscope.
Squamous Epithelial Cells
Epithelium is one of the four primitive types of beast tissue, along with connective tissue, meat tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the outer surfaces of organs and blood vessels throughout the frame, as well as the inner surfaces of cavities in many constitutional organs. An example is the epidermis, the distant layer of the skin.
There are three principal shapes of epithelial cell: squamous, columnar, and cuboidal. These can be scheduled in a single layer of cells as simple epithelium, either squamous, columnar, or cuboidal, or in layers of two or more cells deep as stratified (layered), either squamous, columnar or cuboidal. In some tissues, a thickness of columnar cells may appear to be laminated due to the placement of the nuclei. This sort of tissue is called pseudostratified. All glands are made up of epithelial cells. Services of epithelial cells include saliva, selective absorption, protection, transcellular transportation, and sensing.
Epithelial cells are cells on the surfaces of the body that act as a possessive barrier. They stop viruses winning inside the body.
Epithelial cells cover a person’s skin, but they also materialize along the surfaces of the digestive tract, the internal mouthpieces, and blood vessels.
It is natural for some of these chambers to occur in urine. However, too many epithelial cells in the urine usually indicate an underlying health condition.
There are three main types of epithelial cells:
- Renal tubular: Also known as renal cells, an development in renal tubular cells in the urine may indicate a kidney complication.
- Squamous: These are large epithelial cells that come from the genitalium and urethra. They are the type most often located in a woman’s urine.
- Transitional: These occur in men between the urethra and renal pelvis. They tend to be found in ancienter men and are also called bladder cells.
Squamous Epithelial Cells In Urine
Epithelial cells are a type of cell that lines the surfaces of your body. They are found on your skin, blood vessels, urinary tract, and organs. An epithelial cells in urine test looks at urine under a microscope to see if the number of your epithelial cells is in the normal range. It’s normal to have a small amount of epithelial cells in your urine. A large amount may indicate an infection, kidney disease, or other serious medical condition.
The test for epithelial cells in urine is part of a urinalysis — a test that measures the levels of different substances in urine.
A doctor may order this test if a person comes to them with symptoms of a urinary infection or kidney disorder, such as:
- frequent urination
- pain when urinating
- pain in lower tummy
- back pain
A doctor may also order urinalysis if a visual or chemical urine test showed that there might be a raised number of epithelial cells in a person’s urine.
Before the test, a doctor will give a person a container to collect their urine in and explain how to take the sample.
Most people will use what is called the “clean catch method.” A person is given a sterile pad and container to take to the bathroom.
The person uses the pad to clean their genitals before urinating in a sterilized container. They allow a small amount of urine to flow and then collect the sample midstream. It is crucial that they do not touch the inside of the specimen cup with their genitals or hands.
The urine sample is then sent to a lab where it will be analyzed for different substances.
Other names: microscopic urine analysis, microscopic examination of urine, urine test, urine analysis, UA
What is it used for?
An epithelial cells in urine test is a part of a urinalysis, a test that measures different substances in your urine. A urinalysis may include a visual examination of your urine sample, tests for certain chemicals, and an examination of urine cells under a microscope. An epithelial cells in urine test is part of a microscopic exam of urine.
Why do I need an epithelial cells in urine test?
Your health care provider may have ordered an epithelial cells in urine test as part of your regular checkup or if your visual or chemical urine tests showed abnormal results. You may also need this test if you have symptoms of a urinary or kidney disorder. These symptoms may include:
- Frequent and/or painful urination
- Abdominal pain
- Back pain
What happens during an epithelial cells in urine test?
Your health care provider will need to collect a sample of your urine. During your office visit, you will receive a container to collect the urine and special instructions to make sure that the sample is sterile. These instructions are often called the “clean catch method.” The clean catch method includes the following steps:
- Wash your hands.
- Clean your genital area with a cleansing pad given to you by your provider. Men should wipe the tip of their penis. Women should open their labia and clean from front to back.
- Start to urinate into the toilet.
- Move the collection container under your urine stream.
- Collect at least an ounce or two of urine into the container. The container will have markings to indicate the amounts.
- Finish urinating into the toilet.
- Return the sample container as instructed by your health care provider.
Will I need to do anything to prepare for the test?
You don’t need any special preparations for the test. If your health care provider has ordered other urine or blood tests, you may need to fast (not eat or drink) for several hours before the test. Your health care provider will let you know if there are any special instructions to follow.
Epithelial Cells In Urine
Take a quick look at the skin on your hands. Even if you think your skin is one smooth surface, it is actually made of millions of epithelial cells that are tightly packed next to each other.
That’s not the only place you find these cells. Epithelial cells also line the inside of your throat, intestines, blood vessels, and all your organs. They are a barrier between the inside and outside of your body and are often the first place that is attacked by viruses as they begin their invasion deeper into the body.
Epithelial cells are the safety shields of the body. Take another look at your hand. It is covered with epithelial cells that protect your body by being a barrier between your internal cells and the dirt and microbes in the environment. They also are able to stretch so you can move your fingers and arms into many positions. You can also thank your epithelial cells for making the sweat that cools you down when you’re exercising or when it’s hot outside. To learn more about your skin and the important ways it works for you every day, listen to this podcast.
Other epithelial cells help you experience your environment by having special sensors, called receptors, that collect signals. When you taste a favorite food or smell a flower, the receptors in these cells send the signal to your brain so you can enjoy every bite and sweet smell.
Once you swallow that bite of food, it travels down a path lined with epithelial cells. When it gets to your intestines, another set of epithelial cells absorbs and transports nutrients from the foods you eat and helps process it for energy your body can use. Converting food energy to energy your body can use is the work of molecules called enzymes. Once again, it is epithelial cells that make and secrete the enzymes in your stomach. Epithelial cells also secrete hormones into your blood vessels, mucus in your nose, and the breast milk which mothers feed their young.
Urine Squamous Epithelial Cells
Epithelial cells are uniquely positioned at the interface where self and non-self meets. In the lung, epithelial cells must separate the airways, and potential harmful materials within them, from the blood stream while allowing the free diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The intestine is an even more challenging environment, for in addition to preventing luminal toxins, microbiota, and microbial products from accessing deeper tissues, the intestinal epithelium must support vectorial, or directional, transport of nutrients, ions, and water. The development of epithelial polarity requires accurate delivery of specific transport proteins to either the apical surface (i.e., the surface in contact with the lumen) or the basolateral surface, which interfaces with the interstitium. These transporters are not only critical for promoting active transcellular transport, but also establish transepithelial gradients that provide the driving force for passive paracellular transport.
Epithelial polarity depends on several components, including (1) partitioning of the plasma membrane into separate apical and basolateral compartments; (2) appropriate specialization of these membrane domains (e.g., with apical microvilli (in the intestine), lateral desmosomes, and basal focal adhesions); (3) coordinated organization of intracellular compartments according to cell polarization; and (4) processes that ensure delivery of newly synthesized proteins and lipids to the correct plasma membrane domain as well as retrieval of incorrectly trafficked proteins and lipids. Many of these processes have been defined in detail and depend on several protein complexes that begin to segregate and establish separate domains as soon as two cells make contact (Shin et al., 2006; Schluter and Margolis, 2009).
The apical junctional complex is formed by the tight and adherens junctions and is closely associated with a ring of actin and myosin that forms a belt at the level of the epithelial apical junction complex. As discussed below, this perijunctional actomyosin ring is a critical regulator of paracellular barrier function. Since the tight junction is positioned where apical and basolateral domains meet, it was proposed that tight junctions had gate and fence functions, with the former referring to regulation of flux across the paracellular pathway and the latter referring to the ability to prevent mixing of membrane components (Mandel et al., 1993). However, more recent studies demonstrate that an intact tight junction is not required for the polarized distribution of membrane proteins (Umeda et al., 2006).
The adherens junction, which depends on homophilic E-cadherin-mediated intercellular interactions, is also linked to the perijunctional actomyosin ring. Loss of adherens junction function interferes with several cellular functions, including cell–cell and cell-matrix contacts, intercellular communication, and normal cellular polarization and differentiation. Furthermore, in the absence of the adherens junction, tight junction assembly and maintenance is disrupted, leading to profound paracellular barrier defects (Hermiston and Gordon, 1995a; Rajasekaran et al., 1996; Wu et al., 1998). Mice expressing a dominant-negative cadherin protein that disrupts the adherens junction not only demonstrate a loss of barrier integrity but also develop enteritis and epithelial dysplasia (Hermiston and Gordon, 1995b).
What Are Epithelial Cells
Epithelial cells differ by size, shape, and appearance. There are three types of epithelial cells that can be found in your urine, depending on their origin:
- Renal tubular. These are the most important of the epithelial cells. An increased number can mean a kidney disorder. They’re also called renal cells.
- Squamous. This is the largest type. They come from the vagina and urethra. This type is most often found in female urine.
- Transitional. They can come from anywhere between the male urethra and the renal pelvis. They’re sometimes called bladder cells, and are more common in older adults.
A urine test may show that you have “few,” “moderate,” or “many” epithelial cells in your urine.
Epithelial cells naturally slough off from your body. It’s normal to have one to five squamous epithelial cells per high power field (HPF) in your urine. Having a moderate number or many cells may indicate:
- a yeast or urinary tract infection (UTI)
- kidney or liver disease
- certain kinds of cancer
The type of epithelial cells in the urine may also signal certain conditions. For instance, epithelial cells that contain a large amount of hemoglobin, or blood particles, may mean that you recently had red blood cells or hemoglobin in the urine, even if they weren’t there during the urinalysis.
More than 15 renal tubular epithelial cells per HPF may mean your kidney isn’t working properly.
Squamous epithelial cells in your urine may just mean the sample is contaminated.
A urinalysis that finds squamous epithelial cells in the urine isn’t the norm, William Winter, MD, a clinical chemist for Shands Hospital and professor of pathology and pediatrics at the University of Florida, told Healthline.
That’s because the clean catch method of obtaining a urine sample usually prevents squamous epithelial cells from turning up in the urine. When using the clean catch technique, you’ll be given a sterilizing cloth to wipe the area around the vagina or penis before giving your urine sample. This prevents contaminants from your skin, like epithelial cells, from showing up in your sample.
Your doctor can help you understand your test results and whether you have a medical condition requiring treatment. To find a cause, the doctor may also order further testing.
What does it mean when you have epithelial cells in your urine?
Epithelial cells are a type of cell that lines the surfaces of your body. They are found on your skin, blood vessels, urinary tract, and organs. … It’s normal to have a small amount of epithelial cells in your urine. A large amount may indicate an infection, kidney disease, or other serious medical condition.
Why are epithelial cells important?
Epithelial tissue forms a barrier between the body and the external environment and plays important roles in protection, filtration, absorption, excretion, and sensation. The rapid regeneration of epithelial cells is important to their protective function.
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