Urinary casts are tube-shaped particles made up of white blood cells, red blood cells, and kidney cells. They develop in kidney structures called tubules. Casts are held together by a protein released by the kidney. The content of a cast can tell your health care provider whether your urine is healthy or abnormal.

Types of urinary casts include:

• Fatty casts
• Granular casts
• Hyaline casts
• Red blood cell casts
• Renal tubular epithelial casts
• Waxy casts
• White blood cell casts

Hyaline casts; Granular casts; Renal tubular epithelial casts; Waxy casts; Casts in the urine; Fatty casts, Red blood cell casts; White blood cell casts

A clean-catch (midstream) urine sample is needed, preferably the first morning urine sample.

Men or boys should first wipe clean the head of the penis. Women or girls need to wash the area between the lips of the vagina with soapy water and rinse well.

As you start to urinate, allow a small amount to fall into the toilet bowl (this clears the urethra of contaminants). Then, in a clean container, catch about 1 to 2 ounces of urine and remove the container from the urine stream. Give the container to the health care provider or assistant.

In infants, thoroughly wash the area around the urethra. Open a urine collection bag (a plastic bag with an adhesive paper on one end), and place it on your infant. For boys, the entire penis can be placed in the bag and the adhesive attached to the skin. For girls, the bag is placed over the labia. Place a diaper over the infant (bag and all).

Check your baby frequently and remove the bag after the infant has urinated into it. For active infants, this procedure may take a couple of attempts -- lively infants can displace the bag. The urine is drained into a container for transport back to the health care provider.

No special preparation is needed.

The test involves only normal urination, and there is no discomfort.