What is typically assessed in the chemical area of urinalysis?

In the chemical area of urinalysis, protein levels are assessed to determine the presence of protein in the urine, which can indicate a variety of medical conditions, such as kidney disease or urinary tract infections. Elevated protein levels often suggest that the kidneys are not functioning properly or that there may be damage to the glomeruli, which are the filtering units within the kidneys. This assessment is crucial in diagnosing and monitoring various health conditions.

Other options, while related to urine analysis or instrumentation processes, do not typically fall under the chemical analysis aspect. Viscosity is more of a physical property rather than a chemical analysis. Gram staining is a method used in microbiology to classify bacteria and is not applicable to standard urinalysis. Cellular components, such as counts of cells found in urine, are analyzed in the more microscopic examination of urine rather than the chemical testing. Thus, evaluating protein levels constitutes a key component of the chemical assessment in urinalysis.