amorphous urate is a kind of crystal present in urine, more specifically in uric acid. Urates are present in kidney and gallstones.
It is possible to detect the presence of amorphous urates through a urine test, which serves to diagnose diseases and usually requested by doctors, to verify the problem and indicate the necessary medications to be able to cure the patient of a certain illness. Amorphous urate crystals are formed by the precipitation of salts from urine subjected to changes in pH, temperature or concentration.
The identification of crystals is important in investigating liver diseases, their subdivisions and even some metabolic changes. For the correct identification of the crystals, it is necessary to determine the urinary pH to know the type of substance that is precipitated. Crystals can be classified into normal alkaline urine and abnormal crystals.
Amorphous urate is a normal crystal in acidic urine that is common in concentrated and acidic urines, especially after cooling the sample. They can be solubilized with heating or by adding 10% NaOH.
When there are large amounts of amorphous urates they give the sediment a pink color. Uric acid is also a normal crystal in acidic urine, as is calcium oxalate.