[Familial and endemic character of renal calculi]

After a brief literature survey on the role of the exogenous factors and the dat about the endemic spread of the disease in some regions of the world, the author describes own observations upon 5 families with several members suffering from nephrolithiasis. An opinion is presented that in case of family nephrolithiasis a polygenic (multifactorial) disease is concerned, environmental and genetic factors participating in its etiology. The endemic spread of nephrolithiasis is explained by endogenous factors mainly, searched in the geno-fund of the population from those regions of the world.