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A phlebolith is a small local, usually rounded,
A phlebolith is a small local, usually rounded, calcification
Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue,Miller, J. D. Cardiovascular calcification: Orbicular origins. ''Nature M ...
within a vein
Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and feta ...
. These are very common in the veins of the lower part of the pelvis
The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...
, and they are generally of no clinical importance. When located in the pelvis they are sometimes difficult to differentiate from kidney stone
Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...
s in the ureter
The ureters are tubes composed of smooth muscle that transport urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In an adult human, the ureters typically measure 20 to 30 centimeters in length and about 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter. They are lin ...
s on X-ray
An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
.
Phleboliths in the pelvic region are present in about 44.2% of people and are more common in females (50.1%) than males (37.3%). The amount of phleboliths increases with age and they also appear more often on the left than on the right side of the pelvic region. Phleboliths outside the pelvic region appear in about 2% of the population.
Indications
Phleboliths can be diagnostic for venous malformations.References
Veins {{circulatory-stub