Calcification

This article is about the calcification of body tissue. For calcification of water pipes, see Hard water.

Calcification is the process in which calcium salts build up in soft tissue, causing it to harden. Calcifications may be classified on whether there is mineral balance or not, and the location of the calcification.

Causes

Calcification of soft tissue (arteries, cartilage, heart valves, etc) can be caused by Vitamin K deficiency or by poor calcium absorption due to a high calcium/vitamin D ratio. This can occur with or without a mineral imbalance.

Intake of excessive Vitamin D can cause Vitamin D poisoning and excessive intake of calcium from the intestine, when accompanied by a deficiency of vitamin K (perhaps induced by an anticoagulant such as warfarin). This can result in calcification of arteries and other soft tissue. Such metastatic soft tissue calcification is mainly in tissues containing "calcium catchers" such as elastic fibres or sour mucopolysaccharides. These tissues especially include the lungs (pumice lung) and the aorta.

Mineral balance

• Dystrophic calcification, without a systemic mineral imbalance.
• Metastatic calcification, a systemic elevation of calcium levels in the blood and all tissues.

Symptoms

Calcification can manifest itself in many ways in the body. Several conditions can be caused by poor calcium absorption:

• Tartar on teeth
• Calluses
• Arthritic bone spurs
• Kidney stones
• Gall stones
• Heterotopic bone

Location

• Skeletal calcification
• Extraskeletal calcification
  • e.g. calciphylaxis
• Brain (e.g. Fahr's syndrome)

Pattern

Patterns of calcifications may indicate pathological processes. Laminated appearance suggests granulomatous disease while popcorn calcification indicates hamartoma. Malignant lesions may have stippled or eccentric lesions.

Breast Disease

In a number of breast pathologies, calcium is often deposited at sites of cell death or in association secretions or hyalinized stroma, resulting in pathologic calcification. For example, small, irregular, linear calcifications may be seen, via mammography, in a ductal carcinoma-in-situ to produce visible radio-opacities. [3]

Treatment

Treatment of high calcium/vitamin D ratio may most easily be accomplished by intake of more vitamin D if vitamin K is normal. Intake of too much vitamin D would be evident by anorexia, loss of appetite, or soft tissue calcification.

See also

• Monckeberg's arteriosclerosis
• Pineal gland

References

• Pathologic basis of veterinary disease, McGavin, Zachary; fourth edition; Elsevier 2007

[3] Pathologic Basis of Disease, Robbins and Cotran; 8th edition, Elsevier 2009