HISTO: Urological pathology Flashcards
What are urinary calculi?
Crystal aggregates that form in the renal collecting ducts
May be deposited anywhere in the urinary tract
How common are renal calculi? Who is most affected?
Lifetime incidence 15%
M:F 3:1
What are the three most common types of urinary calculi?
- Calcium Oxalate (Weddellite) – 75%
- Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate (Struvite) – 15%
- Uric Acid – 5%
What are three aetiologies of calcium oxalate calculi?
Absorptive hypercalciuria – excessive gut calcium absorption
Renal hypercalciuria – impaired proximal renal tubule absorption of calcium
Hypercalcaemia – primary hyperparathyroidism, rare
What are triple stones? Why do they form?
Magnesium ammonium phosphate stones = ”triple stones”
Form as a consequence of infection with urease-producing organisms e.g. Proteus sp.
Ammonia alkalinises urine –> precipitation of magnesium ammonium phosphate salts
What form can triple stones take?
Can become very large –> “Staghorn Calculi”
When do uric acid stones form?
Uric acid stones may form in patients with hyperuricaemia e.g.
- Gout
- Rapid cell turnover
BUT most patients do not actually have hyperuricaemia or increased uric acid excretion in urine so believed to occur due to (3) tendency to produce slightly acidic urine.
What are the complications of urinary calculi?
If large:
- Obstruction,
- risk of infection,
- chronic renal failure
When do urinary calculi cause colic? What locations?
When small stones that drift out of the kidney may become impacted in…
- Pelvi-ureteric junction (PUJ)
- pelvic brim
- vesico-ureteric junction (VUJ)
Name 3 benign renal neoplasms.
- Papillary adenoma
- Angiomyolipoma
- Renal oncocytoma
Define renal papillary adenoma.
Benign epithelial kidney tumour composed of papillae and / or tubules
By definition, 15mm or less in size + well-circumscribed
What genetic abnormalities are renal papillary adenomas associated with?
- Trisomy 7,
- Trisomy 17,
- Loss of Y chromosome
When are papillary adenomas more commonly diagnosed?
Frequent incidental finding in nephrectomies and at autopsy
What is this benign renal tumour?

Papillary adenoma
What is this benign renal tumour?

Renal oncotyoma
- Pink, oncocytic cells – full of mitochondria
What is this benign renal tumour?

Angiomyolipoma
What is renal oncocytoma?
- Benign epithelial kidney tumour composed of oncocytic cells
- Well-circumscribed
What is the aetiology of renal oncocytoma?
- Usually sporadic
- Can be seen in Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) = hereditary condition associated with multiple benign skin tumors, lung cysts, and an increased risk of renal lesions (cysts, benign tumors, and kidney cancer.)
Which benign renal tumour is associated with BHD syndrome?
Renal oncocytoma
What are renal angiomolipomas?
•Benign mesenchymal kidney tumour composed of thick-walled blood vessels, smooth muscle and fat
What are angiomyolipomas derived from? What is their aetiology?
Derived from perivascular epithelioid cells
Mostly sporadic. Can be seen in tuberous sclerosis.
What are the complications of angiomyolipomas?
Usually an incidental finding but larger tumours (>4cm) can cause:
- flank pain
- haemorrhage
- shock
Name three types of malignant renal neoplasms.
Renal cell carcinoma
- Clear cell
- Papillary
- Chromophobe
Nephroblastoma
What is renal cell carcinoma? How common is it?
Malignant + epithelial renal tumour
2% of all cancers worldwide, more common in developed countries















