Human Biology or Anatomy: Urinalysis

One common anatomy lab is Urinalysis.  When I was an undergrad, the students were instructed to avoid caffeine for 48 hours before the Urinalysis Anatomy lab and test one’s own urine.  I remember I forgot and produced liters of light fluid.  Anatomy classes tend to use simulated urine to test.  Home Science Tools offers a kit.  If you have a Co-op class, it makes sense to invest in a kit.  Anna and I are going to work alone.  I think I’ll have her prepare a diy urinalysis kit.  I have Benedict’s solution and Biuret reagent to use.  (This Safety Data Sheet from Flinn for simulated urine has some of the ingredients.  This urine lab developed by Siemens for STEM day has some good ideas for lab.  Flinn also has suggestions for teachers to create a urinalysis lab.  

This kidney filtration simulation dovetails well with urinalysis.  Home Science Tools has a kidney and blood filtration kit available.  

There is nothing wrong with buying kits.  When I taught in private and public schools, I had a budget for lab supplies.  Frequently, I ordered a kit to evaluate the contents and decide if the materials might be cheaper to assemble myself.  Some kits, such as Flinn’s stoichiometry lab kit, I ordered every year for my chemistry classes.  The price of the kit was about the same as the individual chemicals; I did that lab every year.

My plan is to have Anna test and assemble a kidney filtration and urinalysis lab herself.  She has two younger brothers to teach.  Your understanding is much greater if you teach the material.