Identification of Elements of Urinary Sediment With Phase-Contrast Microscopy

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Abstract
Phase-contrast microscopy is now available for the routine study of urinary sediment. This technical development, first described by Zernike,1is easy to use, saves time, and allows us to recognize cells, casts, and other dejecta in the urine with a new order of precision and accuracy. Using bright-field microscopy, with or without stains, it takes a trained, interested nephrologist at least ten minutes to methodically scan the urinary sediment.2Less well-trained and less exacting physicians may spend less time at the microscope but usually they rely on junior technicians to report what they see. The physician's lack of confidence in his diagnostic ability is due to the optical limitations of bright-field microscopy, as we shall see. Because he cannot readily identify cells or casts with precision, he has a feeling that looking at the urinary sediment is a pointless exercise of little value to the patient and is

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