If you are required to take a urine drug screen then you are probably familiar with terms like pH levels, creatinine and specific gravity.  These are some of the levels that are measured in your sample to determine if you will pass a drug test.  The specific gravity of your urine is a measure of the degree of concentration of all chemical particles in your urine sample and a parameter of measuring proper kidney function.  The kidneys serve to help your body excrete waste molecules through urination while maintaining a minimal loss of valuable nutrients and water.

The toxins in your body are concentrated in the urine by the kidneys and then removed through urination. Specific gravity is the measurement of the concentration of the excreted molecules.  Another term for specific gravity is urine density.  The normal range of specific gravity in human urine is somewhere between 1.003 and 1.035 and this all depends upon the subjects fluid intake and how well the subjects renal function is.

Testing for the specific gravity in your urine helps your physician to determine your body’s water balance and the chemical concentration of your urine.  If there is an increased level in the specific gravity of your urine sample then it may be due to dehydration, heart failure, shock, diarrhea which will result in dehydration, and in rare cases Addison’s disease.  A decrease in the specific gravity of you urine sample may indicate such conditions as diabetes, kidney failure, severe kidney infection or excessive fluid intake.