The sediment is usually examined using brightfield microscopy and subdued light with a lowered condenser (some structures will be missed if there is too much light in the field). The fine focus throughout the examination is used to identify structures in different focal planes.
Scan the slide on low power (100× total magnification) to quantify casts and elements in only a few fields. Use high power (400× total magnification) to identify casts, crystals, parasites, bacteria, yeast, and sperm and to count red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and epithelial cells.
Staining may help identify some cells and casts. Supravital stains that may be used include Sternheimer-Malbin and 0.5% toluidine blue.
If available, phase-contrast microscopy enhances the identification of some sediment elements, particularly those with a shallow refractive index, which may be missed using brightfield microscopy (e.g., some casts).
Polarized light enhances the identification of lipids and some crystals.
