KIDNEY STONE

Kidney stones also known as renal calculi, are solid hard masses of crystalline material that are
formed within kidney. Presence of stone at any location in the urinary tract is known as urolithiasis,
while if the stone is present in the ureters it is known as ureterolithiasis. The condition of having
kidney stones is termed nephrolithiasis.
Almost one in every 20 people develops kidney stones at some point in their life and it is more
common in men than in women. Mostly kidney stone are formed in between age of 20 to 49 years
but in some people, it may occur earlier. The people living in developing areas the stone in bladder
is common while the people living in industrialized areas, kidney stone mostly occurs in parts
other bladder, this difference is may be due to the dietary factors. A family history of kidney
stones is also a risk factor for developing kidney stones.
The size of kidney stone varies, they range from a fraction of an inch to several inches. The stone
having very small size like ¼ inch usually pass out from the urinary tract without or with little
pain. However the kidney stones of larger size are painful and block the urine flow resulting in
many urinary tract problems.
Types of kidney stones
The stones formed in kidney are of different crystals. The kidney stones are classified into
following categories.
Calcium stone
These are the most common type of stone. These are mostly made up of calcium oxalate. Oxalate
is a naturally occurring substance which is present in many foods like potato chips, peanuts,
chocolate etc. and is also made by liver daily. Sometimes calcium stones may be formed due to
calcium phosphate, and this type of stones are common in metabolic conditions like renal tubular
acidosis. Calcium phosphate stones may also be associated with migraine or some seizure
medications.
Uric acid stone
This type of stone forms when there is increased amount of uric acid in the urine. This Uric acid
then combines with calcium and form crystals. The occurrence of Uric acid stones is more in males
than in females. This stone may also occur in patient with gout or those having chemotherapy.
Purines in food such as fish, shellfish and meats are the cause of making urine acidic, and when
urine is acidic uric acid crystals are formed.
Struvite stone
It is also known as staghorn calculi as they look like a stag’s antlers. Struvite is a mineral, which
is formed by the combination of ammonium, magnesium, and phosphate. Struvite stone is common
in females having urinary tract infections. These types of stones are larger in size and can cause
urinary obstruction. These stones are usually formed due to kidney infections and treating an
underlying infection can prevent the development of struvite stones.
Cystine stones
This is the type of stone which is very rare and occur if person have increased amount of cysteine
(amino acid) in urine. It usually occurs in those males and females who the genetic
disorder cystinuria. Cystine an Acid which is naturally present in the body will leak into the urine
in persons having this type of stone.