Epitaxis between Stone-Forming Crystals at the Atomic Level

Abstract

Numerous treatises have been published on the common components of renal calculi and on the most frequent combinations of those crystalline materials in multicomponent stones. These studies have utilized the techniques of optical microscopy, electron microscopy, chemical analysis, and x-ray crystallography. The most common stone components are summarized in Table I. Renal calculi are frequently composed of more than one crystalline component, and, as shown in Table II, there is a higher degree of incidence for some admixtures than others¹. When these multicomponent stones are sectioned, the different crystalline entities are seen to lie in distinct layers, and each distinct layer is, in general, homogenous in crystalline composition.