PATTERNS OF TISSUE MINERALIZATION
Three Pathways for Kidney Stone Formation All kidney stones share similar presenting symptoms, and urine supersaturation with respect to the mineral phase of the stone is essential for stone formation. These clinical similarities have made it difficult for researchers to development treatments plans to successfully arrest stone formation for a specific stone former. However, recent studies using papillary biopsies of stone formers provide a view of the histology of renal crystal deposition which suggests that the early sequence of events leading to stone formation differs greatly depending on the type of stone and on the urine chemistry leading to supersaturation. Three general pathways for kidney stone formation (Figure 1) are seen: 1) stones fixed to the … Continued