Today, urine specimens remain the highest volume of specimen tested in the routine clinical laboratory. This easily and painlessly obtained specimen provides insight into the patient’s overall health and specific and critical information regarding kidney function, diabetes, urinary tract infection and pregnancy. Both automated and manual testing protocols are available and are designed to be simple, requiring minimal experience. The apparent simplicity belies the need for careful preparation and adherence to procedures in order to obtain reliable, accurate and consistent results from person-to-person, shift-to-shift, lab-to-lab.