The urinary tract, or system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located below the ribs toward the middle of the back. They remove extra water and wastes from the blood, converting it to urine. They also keep a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood. The kidneys produce hormones that help build strong bones and help form red blood cells. Narrow tubes called ureter carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, an oval-shaped chamber in the lower abdomen. Like a balloon, the bladder’s elastic walls stretch and expand to store urine. They flatten together when urine is emptied through the urethra to outside the body. Read more...
A kidney stone is a hard, crystalline mineral material formed within the kidney or urinary tract. Kidney stones are a general cause of blood in the urine and often severe hurt in the abdomen, flank, or groin. Kidney stones are sometimes called renal calculi. One in every 20 people develop a kidney stone at some point in their life.
The situation of having kidney stones is termed nephrolithiasis. Having stones at any position in the urinary tract is referred to as urolithiasis.
Kidney stones classically leave the body by passage in the urine stream, and many stones are shaped and passed without causing symptoms. If stones grow to enough size before road on the order of at least 2-3—millimeters they can cause obstruction of the ureter.
The resultant obstruction causes dilation or stretching of the upper ureter and renal pelvis (the part of the kidney where the urine collects before entering the ureter) as well as muscle spasm of the ureter, trying to shift the stone.
This leads to pain, most usually felt in the flank, lower abdomen and groin (a condition called renal colic). Renal colic can be associated with nausea and vomiting.
There can be blood in the urine, able to be seen with the naked eye or under the microscope (macroscopic or microscopic hematuria) due to damage to the inside layer of the urinary tract.
Symptoms of Kidney Stones
1. Severe pain in their attempt to pass down the ureter
2. Frequent desire to urinate
3. Painful urination
4. Scanty urination
5. Nausea, vomiting, sweating, and chills
6. Sometimes passes blood with the urine Read more...
