Introduction of Urinary Tract Stone

Urinary tract stones are crystialline masses that form from the minerals and proteins, which naturally occur in urinary tract. Urinary tract stone disease is sometimes called urinary calculus or urolithiasis. It is the third most common affliction of the urinary tract, exceeded only by urinary tract infection and pathologic condition of prostate. Urinary stones have plagued humans since the earliest records of civilization. From the days of predynastic Egyptians until the present time, kidney stones have perplexed patients and physicians alike and, although during that time the methods for removing stones have advanced from the crudely barbaric to the highly sophisticated, the problem of how successfully  to prevent the recurrent stones continiues to challenge urologist and nephrologist

During the six millennia since the formation of the earliest recorded stone, the pattern of urolithiasis has changed in many respect, particularly within the past century. For example, in Western countries before 1900, stones occurred commonly in children particularly in boys, and were form commonly in bladder. The stones usually consisted of ammonium urate and/or calcium oxalate and were caused by poor nutrition. Although this form of the disorder is still found today in rural areas within the “endemic stone belt”, stretching from Jordan, through Iraq, Iran, and the Indian subcontinent until to the furthest extremities of South-East Asia, is is rapidly disappearing with improving strandard of nutrition, as it did in most of developed countries about 100 years ago. As the incidence, the bladder stones in children has decreased, however the prevalence of stones in adults has increased, there have been peaks and troughs in incidence that coincide with period of economic prosperity and recession.

 

Reference:

1.  Robertson, WG. The Scientific Basis of Urinary Stone Formation. The Sientific Basis of Urology, 2010: 10:162

2.  Stoller, ML. Urinary Stone Disease. Smith’s General Urology-17th edition. 2007; 16:246