ABSTRACT
Renal calculi represent precipitate or concretions which have been formed from the urine. The presence of these stones in the urinary tract can be the basis for excruciating pain as well as severe trauma. The formation of such stones in the kidney or in the ureters or bladder may create serious renal damage. Urinary stones or calculi have been recognized as a disorder of mankind since earliest times. The severe pain of renal stone passage into the urine left little opportunity for such events to be unnoticed. Efforts to evolve a satisfactory explanation for the basis of stone formation in the urinary tract have been underway for many years. Study of the urine in urolithiasis, as well as clinical identification of passed or surgically removed stones, provides important support in the effective treatment of urolithiasis.
