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Urine testing over time

Learn more about the history of urinalysis and the role these tests play in diagnostics today.

6min
Doreen Pfeiffer
Published on July 17, 2023

Eucrasia, from the Greek for good balance, was the core principle of ancient pathology, which centered on four bodily fluids known as humors. Until well into the 18th century, urine testing was considered a reliable diagnostic technique and laid the foundation for the laboratory diagnostics we use today.

A diagnostic aid: The uroscopy wheel

Sweet like honey

This all might sound odd by today’s standards, but over the centuries, it developed into an increasingly accurate diagnostic method. For instance, the finding that sweet-tasting urine indicated diabetes mellitus (in which sugar the body cannot process is excreted into the urine) eventually gained widespread acceptance in the medical community in the 17th century.

One fluid, endless uses

From reading urine to modern diagnostics

Teaser image for page, showing the "Manneken Pis" statue in Brussles

Want to learn more?

Follow us from the origins to the invention of modern urinalysis in the 1950s all the way to its future in our docu series on YouTube.

Watch now on YouTube
By Doreen Pfeiffer
Doreen Pfeiffer is an editor at Siemens Healthineers.

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  1. 1 Ortrun Riha: Mittelalterliche Heilkunst. Das Arzneibuch Ortolfs von Baierland (um 1300). Deutscher Wissenschafts-Verlag, Baden-Baden 2014, ISBN 978-3-86888-071-7
    2 Queremel Milani DA, Jialal I. Urinalysis. [Updated 2023 May 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557685/