Rowlands,1 in his examination of twenty-two stones, came to the following conclusions: that renal calculi are composed almost entirely of calcium oxalate; that uric acid is almost always absent, or present in very small traces; that phosphates are commonly present.
Mackarell, Moore and Thomas,2 following the investigations of Rowlands, concluded that these results have a marked bearing on the calcium metabolism in gout and allied conditions. They examined twenty-four renal stones and they corroborated the findings of Rowlands. They recommended that when a calculus has been obtained by operation or otherwise, it should be analyzed, and if it is found to be composed of calcium salts, the patient should be put on a course of acid treatment and not alkaline medications, as has been the custom.
I have examined a series of sixteen stones from patients of the Mount Sinai and various other hospitals in New York