Urea Nitrogen - Urine
Alternate Names : Urine Urea Nitrogen, UUN
Definition A test to measure the amount of urea in the urine.
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Why is the Test Performed?
This test is mainly used to assess the protein balance and the amount of dietary protein needed by severely ill patients. Urine urea serves this purpose as it is a measure of protein breakdown in the body.
Urea is excreted by the kidneys, so excretion of urea can reflect kidney function. The urine urea excretion can be measured to obtain a ratio between the plasma (blood) urea and the urine urea. This ratio (U/P urea) is an indicator of how well the kidneys are able to filter and excrete urea from the bloodstream.
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