[Bone formation in the ureter. Osseous metaplasia of an obstructed ureter]

Bone formation outside the skeleton is well known. Yet, ossification within the urogenital tract is rare. The case of a patient with distal ureteral obstruction, hydronephrosis, and subsequent circular osseous metaplasia of the ureter is presented. Open transperitoneal right-sided nephrectomy with partial resection of the ureter was performed. Intraoperatively and in histopathologic examination circular bone formation adjacent to the ureteral wall was detected. There was no evidence of malignancy. Early animal experiments in the twentieth century showed that bone metaplasia may be induced by epithelium of the urinary tract under certain conditions such as ischemia, inflammation, necrosis, sclerosis, and trauma. Osseous metaplasia may therefore be considered a differential diagnosis of calcification of the upper urinary tract in the absence of urolithiasis.