Kidney Stones: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Running head: MEDICAL ASSIGNMENT
MEDICAL ASSIGNMENT
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1MEDICAL ASSIGNMENT
Kidney stones or nephrolithiasis, which is also known as renal lithiasis, is the result of the
accumulated deposit of several minerals and salts, which is formed due to kidney functions in the
inner linings of the organ. This disease could affect any section of the urinary tract and can lead
to complications from the kidney to the gall bladder (Marieb & Hoehn, 2016).
Etiology
Kidney stones generally from within an individual, whose urine contain a higher amount
of crystal-forming substance such as oxalate, uric acid or calcium than the fluid or water
concentration (Haley et al., 2016). Further, if the urine of an individual lacks the substance that
prevents crystal formation, then kidney stones could be observed. Therefore, improper water
intake and physiological changes could develop kidney stones in patients (Tepeler et al., 2016).
Pathophysiology
Pathophysiological growth of kidney stones starts with accumulation of crystals formed
due to supersaturated urine and then sticks to the urothelium hence, it leads to nidus leading to
stone growth related situation. Further, in the research of Scales et al. (2014), it was noticed that
upon developing on Randall’s Plaques, calcium oxalate stones erode the urothelium leading to
the nucleus formation for the oxalate deposition within the kidney linings. Further, crystal
adhesion on the cell surface is favored by the crystal adhesive molecules which is expressed due
to lack of fluid in the body, leading to kidney stone formation (Kirkali et al., 2015).
Clinical manifestations