THE OCCURRENCE OF RENAL CALCULI AND THEIR POSSIBLE RELATION TO DIET

Abstract

For many years calculous disease of the urinary tract has been looked on as a surgical problem. Since the advent of aseptic surgery and the invention of the modern cystoscope, other methods of relief have hardly been considered. The many failures to correct the disease surgically and the frequency of recurrence after surgical removal of the stone have demanded a more thorough investigation into cause and effect. From time to time many theories have naturally been advanced regarding the formation of urinary calculi. In the light of recent observations on this matter I will interpret my observations on the huge biologic experiment that is being enacted at present in the Union of South Africa. <h3>STASIS</h3> As early as 1914 Fowler¹described ureteral stricture and the subsequent urinary stasis as an etiologic factor in the formation of kidney stones. In 1924 Hunner²emphasized this with tremendous force in the