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calcifications

Monday 15 November 2004

tissular calcification

Images

 Tumoral Calcinosis

 calciphylaxis

 Wikimedia: calcifications in a benign breast tissue / mammary calcifications

 psammoma

Digital slides

 JRC:6443 : Metastatic pulmonary calcification.

Definition: Pathologic calcification is the abnormal tissue deposition of calcium salts, together with smaller amounts of iron, magnesium, and other mineral salts.

Types

 tissular calcifications
 post-necrotic calcifications
 metastatic calcifications
 tumoral calcifications

 in atherosclerotic plaque

 calciphylaxis

Pathology

There are two forms of pathologic calcification. When the calcium deposition occurs locally in dying tissues, the phenomenon is known as post-necrotic calcifications (dystrophic calcification); it occurs despite normal serum levels of calcium and in the absence of derangements in calcium metabolism.

In contrast, the deposition of calcium salts in otherwise normal tissues is known as metastatic calcification, and it almost always results from hypercalcemia secondary to some disturbance in calcium metabolism.

Etiology

 calcium metabolism anomalies
 granulomatous processes

 granulomatoses

 histiocytic infiltrations

  • familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FEL) (8058942)

 histiocytoses

 tumors

Localizations

 mammary calcifications
 cerebral calcifications
 subserosal calcifications ( peritoneal calcifications )
 renal calcifications

 adrenal calcifications

 cutaneous calcifications

See also

 tissular deposits

Portfolio

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