1. Color: black, brown, green, gray, orange-yellow, pale [dilute], pink, red, red-orange
2. Opacity, smell
3. Chemical analysis strip, pH
4. Proteins, casts, blood cells
5. Specific gravity

Color: black

• Severe hemoglobinuria
• Melanoma
• Ochronosis
• Methyldopa
• Iron

Color: brown

• Bilirubin
• Nitrofurantoin
• Blood, hemoglobin

Color: green

• Methylene blue

Color: gray

• Methyldopa

Color: orange-yellow

• Dehydrated [concentrated urine]
• Bilirubin
• Tetracyclines
• Sulfasalazine
• Riboflavin

Color: pale [dilute]

• DI
• Overhydration
• Beer
• Post-obstructive diuresis

Color: pink

• Beetroot
• Phenindione

Color: red

• Hematuria
• Hemoglobinuria
• Myoglobinuria
• Porphryrins
• Porphobilinogen [on standing, acidic urine]
• Pyridium
• Rifampicin

Color: red-orange

• Phenolphthalein

Opacity

• Pink cloudy (urate).
• White cloudy (phospate).

Smell

• Asparagus, antibiotics, fishy (UTI).

Chemical analysis strip

• Glucos.e
• Ketones (DM).
• Blood.
• Leukocytes.
• Nitrites (bacteria, vitamin C).
• Bile.

pH

• Alkaline pH (proteus, distal renal tubular acidosis, acetazolamide, calculi treatments).
• Normally, pH slightly alkaline after meal.

Proteins

• Protein (proteinuria). 
• Protein: Bence-Jones pronteinuria.

Casts

Rule of thumb for casts: casts are casts of the tubule so must be problem with glomerulus.

• Red cell casts (always nephritis).
• White cell casts (pyelonephritis).
• Muddy brown casts [made of renal tubular epithelial cells] (ATN).
• Granular casts.
• Hyaline casts.
• Fatty casts (nephrotic syndrome).

Blood cells

• Only WBC's (UTI).
• Only whole cell RBCs. (bladder CA, RCC). See Hematuria Reference for others.

Specific gravity

• Low (DI, chronic renal failure).
• High (DM, dehydration) [solutes increase specific gravity].