Intraluminal calcification of the abdominal aorta

A patient who had no evidence of atherosclerotic disease and had never been hypertensive, presented with symptoms usually associated with gallstone disease. A large intraluminal calcification in the juxtarenal aorta was found to be the probable cause of these symptoms. The aorta was otherwise free of atherosclerotic changes. Although it could not be identified with certainty, this calcification could have developed secondary to a single ulcerated atheroma.