OxalosisReport of a Case with Review of the Literature

Abstract

Over 100 years ago the medical profession in Europe and America became interested in the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in human urine. It was known that this substance was liable to form urinary calculi, and it was suspected that its excretion in the urine might indicate a metabolic disorder. Largely under the influence of Prout* and Golding Bird³ the concept of an "oxalic acid diathesis" was established, and a variety of neurasthenic, dyspeptic, and rheumatic symptoms was attributed to this.† Later, attempts were made to support the diagnosis of the condition by demonstrating abnormally high levels of oxalate in the blood and urine of the patients; the terms "oxalemia" and "oxaluria" were coined. In the present century, Loeper‡ and his associates in France have been particularly active in the investigation of the suspected metabolic disorder and in attempts to maintain "oxalemia" as a clinical entity. There is a