THE PRESENT CONCEPTION OF RENAL LITHIASIS

Abstract

The cause of renal lithiasis is nearly as obscure today as it was twenty years ago, although progress in management of the disease cannot be denied. As Joly¹has briefly stated it, "Our methods of investigation have been revolutionized by the introduction of radiography and cystoscopy. An operation for stone in the upper urinary tract is no longer exploratory. One knows the position, size, and shape of the calculus, the condition of the kidney, the complications (if any) before the patient comes to operation. The result is that operations for stone in the kidney and ureter are now done to an exact scientific basis. The procedure is well regulated, and the minimum amount of damage inflicted on the patient. Also, our conceptions of stone formation have been fundamentally changed by recent advances in physiological chemistry. It is quite possible that they, in turn, may suggest fresh prophylactic and preventive