Vikki the Vet Analyses the Urine of Ulysses the Urial
Earlier in this series Vikki the Vet performed rhinoplasty on Rihanna the Rhinoceros.
Vikki the Vet repaired Rihanna in Rwanda.
Uganda is right next to Rwanda.
So after Rwanda, Vikki the Vet went to Uganda.
Vikki the Vet is in Uganda visiting Ulysses the Urial.
You might remember that Rihanna, the rhino, was an odd-toed ungulate.
Urials are ungulates that support most of their weight on two toes per foot.
And because two is an even number … Urials are even-toed ungulates.
Now it needs to be said that urials are not indigenous to Uganda.
But urials are indigenous to the Uzbekistan area.
That is where they originally come from.
The suffix –stan is an ancient word.
And it stands for “place of”.
There are seven –stans.
There’s:
Afghanistan,
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Pakistan,
Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan.
Ulysses, the even-toed ungulate, is originally from Uzbekistan.
Now Rwanda to Uganda isn’t that far.
But Uzbekistan to Uganda is another matter.
Uzbekistan to Uganda is an epic adventure.
And for Ulysses, it was an interesting odyssey.
The ship Ulysses was on made it all the way from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
But then the crew of the ship drank too much wine.
Drinking to much wine can cause you too temporarily lose your mind.
And their temporary loss of mind took them off course.
It took them all the way to the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Hence the old adage:
Circe might turn you into a swine if you drink too much wine.
(Luckily, the crew corrected course, and Ulysses landed in Libya.)
Uma and Umar own a urial ranch in Uganda.
Umar and Uma are an upbeat couple.
They always try to look at the upside.
Umar is originally from Uzbekistan and that is why he knows about urials.
And Uma competes on the ultra-competitive ukulele circuit.
When Vikki the Vet got to their ranch
Umar was there to greet her at the gate.
“Hello Ms. Vikki,” said Umar.
“I hope you’ve had a good journey.”
“An interesting drive for sure,” answered Vikki the Vet.
“Well … let’s get you up to the house for some refreshments,” said Umar.
“Sounds good,” said Vikki the Vet.
After refreshments, Uma, Umar, and Vikki Vet headed outside.
“What appears to be the problem with Ulysses,” asked Vikki the Vet.
“Ulysses seems to have a pain in his side,” Umar answered.
“You can just tell by the way he walks,” said Uma.
“And he winces whenever I run my hand down his flank,” Umar added.
“Is he urinating a lot?” asked Vikki the Vet.
“Uh-huh,” Uma answered.
“Any vomiting?” asked Vikki the Vet.
“Uh-uh,” Umar answered.
“I’m going to inspect Ulysses’ urine,” said Vikki the Vet.
“Are you sure,” asked Umar.
“Urinalysis can detect a lot of problems,” answered Vikki the Vet.
If a urial could use a urinal it would make the process so much easier.
But a urial can’t use a urinal!
So Vikki the Vet had to collect Ulysses’ urine in a bucket.
“So what are you seeing?” Umar asked.
“Well … there’s no blood in Ulysses’ urine … and that’s a good sign.”
“Blood in the urine often indicates a kidney problem,” said Vikki the Vet.
“Ulysses’ urine is a bit cloudy, and that’s often the sign of a urinary tract infection.”
“I’ll get a better idea when I check Ulysses’ urine for protein with these chemical strips.”
Pee can have a little protein in it.
But if you have too much protein in your pee, you probably have a problem!
“No blood and no protein,” said Vikki the Vet.
“I’m pretty sure Ulysses doesn’t have a kidney problem.”
“Let me do this nitrate test,” Vikki the Vet continued.
Nitrates come from white blood cells.
And the job of white blood cells is to fight off infection.
So, an increase in nitrates in your urine indicates an increase in your body’s output of white blood cells.
And an increase in white blood cells is a sign that your body is fighting an infection.
“Ulysses’ nitrates are high,” confirmed Vikki the Vet.
“I’d say Ulysses has a urinary tract infection.”
“Can you tell where the infection is?” asked Umar.
“It’s tough to say with only a urinalysis to go by,” answered Vikki the Vet.
“It could be in his bladder.”
“Or his ureters.”
“Or even his urethra.”
“Would an ultrasound give us the location?” asked Uma.
“Yes.”
“But Ulysses would have to go to Gulu to get an ultrasound,” answered Vikki the Vet.
“And in this situation, it doesn’t really matter.”
“I’ll give Ulysses a course of antibiotics and he should be as good as new in a couple of days.”
“Well that was easy,” said Uma.
“It’s all about identifying the problem,” said Vikki the Vet.
And acknowledging all the men and women who have discovered antibiotics and all of the men and women who make them available to us on an everyday basis.