The Stones
This week, the question came to us from Bilbao. Isabel Etxebest wants to know how kidney stones are formed.
Kidney stones are solid materials and are caused by various substances in the urine. There are many types of stones, but the most common are stones made of calcium.
Calcium is one of the mineral components of our diet. Through food it goes to our bones and muscles, and the excess accumulates in the kidneys so that it can be expelled through the urine. Thus, some people do not excrete this calcium well, as a result of which stones are formed in their kidneys. To put it another way, the excess calcium in the body turns into stone.
However, there are also stones made of other ingredients such as magnesium, ammonia or phosphate... they are also made of uric acid and also of "cystine".
The stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl. In some cases, they may become the size of a golf ball.
So that was this week’s question. If you also want to ask a question, do not hesitate to write us, as Isabel Etxebest has done, at teknopolis@elhuyar.com.
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