Abstract
This investigation reports the mineralogy and possible pathological significance of urinary stones removed from patients in Fars province, Iran. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and polarizing microscope (PM) techniques were used to investigate the mineralogical compositions of urinary stones. The identified mineral components include whewellite, weddellite, hydroxyapatite, uricite and cystine. These techniques revealed that the whewellite and uricite were the most common mineral phases. Platy-like/monoclinic whewellite, prismatic/monoclinic uric acid and hexagonal cystine crystals were revealed by SEM. Biominerals (calcium carbonate) and quartz were also identified in PM images. Of the variables determining the type of precipitated minerals, the effects of pH on depositional conditions proved to be the most apparent parameter, as shown by occurrences and relationships among the studied minerals. Our results revealed the importance of detailed knowledge of mineralogical composition in assessing the effects of age and sex. The highest incidence of urinary stones was observed in the 40–60 age group. Calcium oxalate and uric acid stones are more frequent in men than women. Finally, the study concluded that knowledge of the mineralogical composition of urinary stones is important as it helps the scientific community to explain the chemistry and the etiology of the calculi in the urinary system.
Highlights
It is important to stress that physico-chemical principles fundamentally control the complex interactions of solutions, biomolecules, and minerals in the realms of the human body as well as in the natural geological environment [1]
As there were no data on the mineralogical composition of urinary stones of the Fars province population in Iran, this primary study focuses on the quantitative phase analysis and morphological characterization of constituent phases in urinary stones using the Rietveld-based refinement technique with powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively
This study underestimated real urinary disease prevalence, but for the aim of the study it was only necessary to verify a difference in the composition of urolithiasis and verify the impact of age and sex on the distribution of the pathology in the Fars Province
Summary
It is important to stress that physico-chemical principles fundamentally control the complex interactions of solutions, biomolecules, and minerals in the realms of the human body as well as in the natural geological environment [1]. As there were no data on the mineralogical composition of urinary stones of the Fars province population in Iran, this primary study focuses on the quantitative phase analysis and morphological characterization of constituent phases in urinary stones using the Rietveld-based refinement technique with powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. We interpret these data to determine the relationship between age and sex and the frequency of urinary stones in view of their mineral composition. The principles of methodology used for such analyses have been discussed
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