Vesical and Renal Calculi in Children

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to report an unusually large, primary bladder stone and two stones apparently in the left kidney, in a three-year-old child. Primary stones develop in an acid urine without any antecedent inflammation, but probably with infection as the cause. They may consist of uric acid, urate of soda, lime, potash, oxalate of lime, cystin, xanthin, carbonate of lime, crystalline phosphates of lime, or indigo. Secondary stones which develop in an alkaline urine as a result of inflammation and probably infection may consist of calcium carbonate, and the phosphates of calcium, ammonium and magnesium. Uric acid stones are found in 80 per cent of cases, according to Keyes. The causes of stone formation are obscure. Primary calculi are rarely met among women. The influence of soil, climate, drinking water, occupation, diet, and the amount of salt consumed, seem to have a bearing on their formation. The increased density of the urine, the presence of colloid substances in solution with an exces...