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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffBladder stones are small masses of minerals that form in your bladder. Bladder stones develop when urine in your bladder becomes concentrated, causing minerals in your urine to crystallize. Concentrated, stagnant urine is often the result of an enlarged prostate, nerve damage or recurring urinary tract infections.
Bladder stones don't always cause signs or symptoms and are sometimes discovered during tests for other problems. When symptoms do occur, they can range from abdominal pain to blood in your urine.
Small bladder stones sometimes pass on their own, but you may need to have others removed by your doctor. Left untreated, bladder stones can cause infections and other complications.
- Managing bladder dysfunction. Clinical Center: National Institutes of Health. http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/bladder/bladder7_9.pdf.Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Weinstein AJ. Urinary calculi (stones/urolithiasis/nephrolithiasis). In: Weber CG. The Clinical Medicine Consult. Pacific Primary Care; 2008. http://clinicalmedconsult.com. Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Pearle MS, et al. Urologic diseases in America: Urolithiasis. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse.http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/uda/Urolithiasis-Chapter08.pdf. Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Medical management of stone disease. American Urological Association. http://www.urologyhealth.org/search/index.cfm?topic=102&search=bladder%20AND%20stones&searchtype=and. Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Hammad FT, et al. Bladder calculi: Did the clinical picture change? Urology. 2006;67(6):1154-1158.
- Garcia Cardozo JV, et al. Bladder calculi: Is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy the first treatment choice? Archives of Spanish Urology. 2003;56(10):1111-1116.
- Gravel root. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
- Stone root. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
- Hydrangea arborescens. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
- Ellis H. A history of bladder stone. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 1979;72(4):248-251.
