Kidney Stone Formation Essay

813 Words2 Pages

Physicochemical Mechanisms of CALCIUM OXALATE MONOHYDRATE Formation
Kidney stone formation is a complex process results from a succession of several physicochemical stages including supersaturation, nucleation, growth, aggregation, and retention within the kidney (Rose 1982, Coe et al. 1992, Coe, et al., 2005, Worcester, et al., 2008). Fig. (I.2) shown simplified scheme for the formation of kidney stone. ( Alok et al. 2013) Fig.I.2. Shown Simplified Scheme for the Formation of Kidney Stone.

I.3.1. Nucleation and Crystallization
I.3.1.1. Supersaturation
Supersaturation, the fundamental driving force for the change of phase from solution to solid (i.e. when crystallization occurs), is the first and most essential step in the process of stone formation. On the other hand, Supersaturation means that the concentration of the ions that make up the stone forming salt exceed their …show more content…

1985, Coe and Favus 1986). However other researchers have reported the contrary, namely that people who have never passed a stone in their life sometimes pass highly saturated urine (Ryall 1993, Hess and Kok 1996, Kavanagh 2006a). Therefore supersaturation of urine is not a pathological problem as long as crystalline particles pass freely through the urinary tract. A pathological scenario arises when crystals are retained and begin to grow (Finlayson and Reid 1978a, Kok and Khan 1994). I.3.1.2. Nucleation
The initial step in the transformation from a liquid to a solid phase in a supersaturated solution is called nucleation. This process begins with the combination of stone salts in solution into loose clusters that may increase in size by addition of new components or clusters (Boskey, 1981). There are two steps to form a crystal from supersaturated solution and these are:- 1- Formation of a nucleus
2- The growth of this nucleus into a

More about Kidney Stone Formation Essay

Open Document