Calcification can be pathological or a standard part of the aging process. Nearly all adults show calcification of the
pineal gland.
Location •
Extraskeletal calcification, e.g.
calciphylaxis • Brain, e.g.
primary familial brain calcification (Fahr's syndrome) •
Choroid plexus usually in the
lateral ventricles • Tumor calcification • Arthritic
bone spurs •
Kidney stones •
Gall stones •
Heterotopic bone •
Tonsil stones •
Pulp stone 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.
Arteriosclerotic calcification One of the principal causes of
arterial stiffening with age is vascular calcification. Vascular calcification is the deposition of mineral in the form of calcium phosphate salts in the smooth muscle-rich medial layer of large
arteries including the aorta.
DNA damage, especially oxidative DNA damage, causes accelerated vascular calcification. Vascular calcification could also be linked to the chronic leakage of blood lysates into the vessel wall since red blood cells have been shown to contain a high concentration of calcium. ==Diagnosis==