Myoglobin
- Also Known As:
- Urine Myoglobin
- Serum Myoglobin

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At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To determine whether muscle has been injured; to help diagnose conditions associated with muscle damage; to detect high levels in the urine that can cause kidney damage after extensive muscle damage; sometimes to help determine if you have had a heart attack, although for heart attack detection, this test has been largely replaced by troponin.
When To Get Tested?
When you have muscle weakness, muscle aches, and/or dark urine and your health care provider suspects muscle damage; when there has been severe traumatic injury to skeletal muscle
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein or a random urine sample
Test Preparation Needed?
None
You may be able to find your test results on your laboratory’s website or patient portal. However, you are currently at Testing.com. You may have been directed here by your lab’s website in order to provide you with background information about the test(s) you had performed. You will need to return to your lab’s website or portal, or contact your healthcare practitioner in order to obtain your test results.
Testing.com is an award-winning patient education website offering information on laboratory tests. The content on the site, which has been reviewed by laboratory scientists and other medical professionals, provides general explanations of what results might mean for each test listed on the site, such as what a high or low value might suggest to your healthcare practitioner about your health or medical condition.
The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report. They are typically found to the right of your results.
If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range.
Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. They are sometimes called “normal” values. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases.
While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are “within normal limits.”
For more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean.
What is being tested?
Myoglobin is a small protein found in heart and skeletal muscles that binds oxygen. It traps oxygen within muscle cells, allowing the cells to produce the energy required for muscles to contract. When heart or skeletal muscle is injured, myoglobin is released into the blood. Elevated levels can be measured within a few hours following an injury.
Myoglobin is filtered from the blood by the kidneys and is released into the urine. Large quantities of myoglobin are toxic to the kidneys. If significant amounts of myoglobin are released into the bloodstream, which can happen after severe trauma or muscle injuries, the excess myoglobin may cause damage to the kidneys and eventually result in kidney failure. Measurement of myoglobin in urine helps to detect this condition.
Common Questions
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
2019 review performed by Hoda Hagrass MD, Ph.D., Medical Director of clinical chemistry and immunology laboratories, UAMS.
(July 2019) Jaffe and Morrow. Biomarkers of cardiac injury other than troponin. UpToDate. Available online through https://www.uptodate.com. Accessed on 8/29/29.
(February 2019) Dugdale. Myoglobin blood test. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available online at https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003663.htm. Accessed on 8/29/19.
( January 2019) Biomarkers of acute myocardial infarction: current perspectives. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2019; 15: 1–10. Available online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6340361/#b36-vhrm-15-001. Accessed on 9/1/2019.
Myoglobin, urine. Mayo Clinic Laboratories. Available online at https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/35109. Accessed on 9/2/2019.
(December 2018) Devarajan. Myoglobinuria, workup. Medscape. Available online at https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/982711-workup. Accessed on 9/2/2019.
Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. Burtis CA, Ashwood ER, Bruns DE, eds. St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
(October 2018) Molares. Rhabdomyolysis. Medscape. Available online at https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1007814-overview. Accessed on 9/2/2019.
Myoglobin, serum. Mayo Clinic Laboratories. Available online at https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/35110. Accessed October 2019.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
Wu, A. (2006). Tietz Clinical Guide to Laboratory Tests, Fourth Edition. Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis, Missouri.
Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. Burtis CA, Ashwood ER, Bruns DE, eds. St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders; 2006. Pp 815-817.
Henry’s Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 21st ed. McPherson R, Pincus M, eds. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier: 2007. Pp 404-405.
Pagana K, Pagana T. Mosby’s Manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests. 3rd Edition, St. Louis: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. pp 376-377.
Thomas, Clayton L., Editor (1997). Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, PA [18th Edition].
Dugdale, D. (Updated 2011 February 21). Myoglobin – serum. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003663.htm. Accessed September 2011.
Dugdale, D. (Updated 2011 February 21). Myoglobin – urine. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003664.htm. Accessed September 2011.
Schreiber, D. and Miller, S. (Updated 2011 March 29). Use of Cardiac Markers in the Emergency Department. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/811905-overview. Accessed September 2011.
(© 1995-2011). Unit Code 9035: Myoglobin, Serum. Mayo Clinic Mayo Medical Laboratories [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Overview/9035. Accessed September 2011.
(Updated 2011 May). Inflammatory Myopathies. ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/InflammatoryMyopathies.html?client_ID=LTD#tabs=0. Accessed September 2011.
Pagana, K. D. & Pagana, T. J. (© 2011). Mosby’s Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference 10th Edition: Mosby, Inc., Saint Louis, MO. Pp 688-689.
(Jan 4, 2010) Davarajan P. Myoglobinuria. Medscape Review article. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/982711-overview. Accessed October 2011.
(August 24, 2015) Schreiber D. Cardiac Markers. Medscape Reference. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/811905-overview#a4. Accessed February 2016.
(©2016) Mayo Medical Laboratories. Myoglobin, Serum. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/35110. Accessed February 2016.
(©2016) Mayo Medical Laboratories. Myoglobin, Urine. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/35109. Accessed February 2016.
Bethel, C. (Updated December 27, 2015) Myopathies. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/759487-overview. Accessed February 2016.
Eyal Muscal, E (Updated June 22 2015). Rhabdomyolysis. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1007814-overview. Accessed February 2016.
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