Some Peculiarities of Urolith Ontogeny of the Inhabitants of Dnipropetrovsk Region

Abstract

According to the data of World Health Organization, the incidence of a disease of inhabitants with urolithiasis is constantly growing; moreover the number of recurrences of this disease is stable at 70%. The purpose of the work is to identify some features of the ontogenesis of uroliths from the kidneys of the inhabitants of Dnipropetrovsk region, primarily related to the structure and morphology of these formations. Based on comparative analyzes of morphological observations of more than 300 kidney stones investigated in inhabitants of Dnipropetrovsk region, it was found that spherulites and druse-like aggregates as well as their combinations are the most common among them. Moreover areas of attachment to renal papillae are usually observed on the surface of spherulitic formations and, as a rule, druse-like aggregates are formed in free space of a renal pelvis. Therefore, the specific features of the morphology of urinary stones allow to establish the most favorable areas of the urinary system for their predominant formation in each patient. Urolites of spherical shape differ in zonal structure, while the zonal structure is formed by the alternation of both essentially mineral and mainly organic layers, and mineral layers of different composition as well. Mineralogical and petrographic studies of urinary stones revealed the presence of 15 mineral species, mainly urate and oxalate compounds, with monomineral formations occurring in less than 1%. Multiscale microblocking and the presence of organic matter inclusions are characteristic features of the crystals of all established minerals. The central part of the uroliths is usually represented by accumulations of organic matter containing a highly dispersed mineral component. It is proved that such characteristics as color, size, shape and character of the surface of uroliths of the inhabitants of Dnipropetrovsk region are not very informative for the establishment of their predominant mineral composition. The accumulation of analytical material on the ontogenesis of urinary stones, their structure and mineral composition and its generalization, taking into account the medical and biological characteristics of each patient and the geoecological state of the region, could contribute to solution of an important social task — prevention and effective treatment of urolithiasis.