Cylinder Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Cylinder and links to relevant pages within the course.
Learn more about laboratory continuing education for medical technologists to earn CE credit for AMT, ASCP, NCA, and state license renewal and recertification. Or get information about laboratory safety and compliance courses that deliver cost-effective OSHA safety training and continuing education to your laboratory's employees.
| Polyacrylamide Electrophoresis (PAGE) More separations are also achieved with layers of polyacrylamide gels each with a different pore size. The gels can be horizontal or vertical slabs or incorporated into vertical cylinders or rods. Varying the pore size in each layer is significant especially if very small pore sizes are created. DNA of 100 base pairs (bp) or less can be separated.Common applications of PAGE are separation of proteins and nucleic acids. Polyacrylamide gels are also used as the medium in several other types of electrophoresis described in this section. | View Page |
| Volume Normal semen volume is 2.0 ml or more.Volume is measured by pouring the semen into a graduated cylinder or by very carefully drawing the specimen into an appropriately sized pipet. With either of these methods it is important to avoid foaming or bubbling of the semen as these can effect the sperm count and motility. | View Page |
| Hyaline Casts Under High Power This field, viewed under high power (40X) shows clear cylinders with parallel sides and rounded ends. Note that some casts appear broader than others. Their size is proportionate to the width of the tubule in which they were formed. | View Page |
| Renal Tubular Epithelial Cell Casts Epithelial cell casts appear as clear cylinders containing renal epithelial cells. These casts indicate tubular damage. In the broader cast, epithelial cells appear at random: in the narrow cast, however, epithelial cells often appear in two rows. Renal epithelial cell casts may be difficult to distinguish from WBC casts especially if the casts have begun to degrade. Contrast microscopy or supravital stains may aid differentiation. | View Page |
| Granular Casts Granular casts are composed of plasma protein aggregates and cellular remnants. Granular casts appear as cylinders of coarse, or fine, highly refractive particles. Coarsely granular casts (yellow arrow) contain large, coarse dark yellow or dark brown granules. They are very irregular in shape as shown in this high power magnification under the brightfield microscope. A hyaline cast can be seen just to the left of the coarse granular cast (blue arrow). | View Page |
| Waxy Casts Waxy casts appear as cylinders of smooth, highly refractive material. They are yellow, homogeneous and their ends may be square or broken off. Cracks may occur within the cast, giving it a segmented appearance. Waxy casts are believed by some to be the final stage of degeneration of the fine granules of granular casts. Since the granules need time to degrade, this finding implies localized nephron obstruction. Waxy casts are seen in chronic renal failure, and acute and chronic renal allograft rejection. Unusually broad waxy casts are known as renal failure casts. These very broad casts are created in the dilated tubules seen in end-stage renal disease. | View Page |
| Fatty Cast A fourth type of cast is the fatty cast. Fatty casts are clear cylinders containing droplets of fat which are highly refractile. These casts originate from the breakdown of the tubular epithelium containing oval fat bodies. Fatty casts are characteristic of degenerative tubular disease and are frequently seen with heavy proteinuria. | View Page |
| Red Cell Casts Red cell casts appear as clear cylinders containing red blood cells and may have an orange red tinge. Their presence indicates bleeding into the nephron.
Red cells within the cast are rapidly hemolyzed and the cast becomes a hemoglobin cast, having an orange color and a homogeneous ground-glass texture. In order for a cast to be considered an RBC cast, the outline of the red cells must be clearly visible in at least one area of the cast. | View Page |
| White Cell Casts White cell casts appear as clear cylinders containing leukocytes. They are associated with infection or inflammation of the nephron. | View Page |
| Hyaline Casts Hyaline casts are clearly visible under phase contrast, appearing as dark, nearly homogenous cylinders. | View Page |
| Squamous Epithelial Cell A structure which may be misidentified as a cast is a squamous epithelial cell rolled into a cigar shaped cylinder. Unless the nucleus is plainly visible, this epithelial cell may be difficult to differentiate from a cast. A mixed cast contains two or more cell types.
| View Page |