[Revisiting the chemical diversity in prostatic calculi: a SEM and FT-IR investigation]

Revisiting the chemical diversity of the crystalline phases of prostatic calculi by means of SEM and FT-IR analysis.

A set of 32 prostatic calculi has been studied by FT-IR and SEM.

FT-IR analysis has determined the chemical composition of each prostatic calculus and the SEM observation has described the morphology of the calculi surfaces and layers. Infrared analysis revealed that 90.7% of the stones were mainly composed of calcium phosphates. However, several mineral phases previously not reported in prostatic calculi were observed, as brushite or octocalcium phosphate pentahydrate.

Prostatic calculi exhibited a diversity of crystalline composition and morphology. As previously reported for urinary calculi, relationships between composition and morphology of prostatic stones and étiopathogenic conditions could be of interest in clinical practice.