kidney and urinary tract disorders
Stones in the Urinary Tract
Introduction
Stones (calculi) are hard masses that form in the urinary tract and may cause pain, bleeding, or an infection or block of the flow of urine. Tiny stones may cause no symptoms, but larger stones can cause excruciating pain in the area between the ribs and hips in the back. Usually, an imaging test and an analysis of urine are done to diagnose stones. Sometimes stone formation can be prevented by changing the diet or increasing fluid intake. Stones that do not pass on their own are removed with Stone removal (the use of shock waves to break up those stones) or an endoscopic technique (the use of specialized tools to view and operate on internal organs). Urinary tract stones form in a kidney and may pass into a ureter or the bladder. Depending on where a stone is located, it may be called a kidney stone, ureteral stone, or bladder stone. The process of stone formation is called urolithiasis, renal lithiasis, or nephrolithiasis. Every year, about 1 of 1,000 adults in the United States are hospitalized because of stones in the urinary tract. Stones are more common among middle-aged and older adults. Stones vary in size from too small to be seen with the naked eye to 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) or more in diameter. A large, so-called staghorn (because of its many projections that resemble a deer's antlers) stone may fill almost the entire renal pelvis (the central collecting chamber of the kidney) and the tubes that drain into it (calyces). A Overview of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) may result when bacteria become trapped in urine that pools above a blockage. When stones block the urinary tract for a long time, urine backs up in the tubes inside the kidney, causing excessive pressure that can cause the kidney to swell ( 