Hemoglobin and Myoglobin in Urine in DogsHemoglobinuria and Myoglobinuria in Dogs
Hemoglobin is an oxygen carrier in the red blood cells, which also serves to carry oxygen to the tissues, as well as the pigment that makes the blood appear red. The destruction of blood cells within the blood vessels frees hemoglobin into the blood plasma (the straw colroed liquid matter of the blood), where it binds with haptoglobin, a blood plasma protein which functions for the purpose of binding with free hemoglobin to prevent the loss of iron from the body. When all of the haptoglobin has been used up, hemoglobin spills over into the blood, binding reversibly to blood proteins and changing the color of the plasma from a faint yellow to pink. The unbound hemoglobin is then cleared through the kidneys.
Myoglobin serves the same purpose as hemoglobin but is particular to the muscles, and is differentiated by the amount of oxygen and carbon monoxide it delivers to the tissues (more, and less, respectively). Muscle damage releases myoglobin into the blood plasma, but it does not bind to serum proteins. Consequently, plasma color does not change, and the myoglobin is quickly cleared from the blood by the liver and kidneys. If there is too much hemoglobin and myoglobin in the blood plasma, these proteins will no longer be reabsorbed in the kidneys, and will instead spill over into the urine.
Not only can hemoglobin and myoglobin damage the kidneys, but their presence in the blood indicates low oxygen-carrying capacity, which can result in liver damage, serious illness, and shock, all of which serve to further decrease the amount of oxygen available to the body through the muscles and blood. In addition, the destruction of red blood cells inside the blood vessels, along with severe muscle damage, can bring about disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), an often fatal blood clotting disease.
Symptoms and Types
Causes
Some of the possible causes for hemoglobinuria and myoglobinuria are listed here.
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