Urinalysis, Part 1

Last post mentioned that a medieval illustrator indicated a physician by showing him holding a flask. There was a very specific substance in that flask, and it wasn't blood; it was urine. Blood's color rarely looked different from person to person or ailment to ailment, but urine could be different in many ways.I talked about a book all about urine a few years ago, but let's get into some more detail now.Medieval physicians saw at least 20 different visual cues in urine when assessing a patient's health. This was such a common practice in Western Europe that William of Rubruck, writing about his travels in the Mongol Empire for Louis IX of France, mentions his surprise that their physicians didn't examine urine.Let's look at some of the statements made by Giles Corbeil (fl.1200) in his 352-verse De urinis, written for students on uroscopy. He starts with the basics:The physician who wishes to be considered an expert judge of urine must consider with care the following things: what…