[Contribution to the study of gallstones. Morphological, radiological and cristallographic analysis (author's...

The structure of gallstones has become of recent interest with the medical treatment of cholesterol stones. It seemed to us interesting to determine by morphological, radiological and above all cristallographic criteria the constituants of gallstones in order to draw up a practical classification which reflects better the biological reality. The present study confirms the existence of cholesterol and calcium carbonate in various types of stone, but reveals in addition the presence of cholesterol and bile salts associated with new mineral constituants identified for the first time (aluminium chlorite and silicate). The notion of pure stones, generally attributed to cholesterol and pigmented stones was only verified in the case of mineral stones.