Myrton F. Beeler

Establishing Normal Values

Determining what is normal for laboratory values is not as easy as it might seem. First, there is the problem of a reference population. Should one use healthy young adults or a group representing the population from which diseased persons come? Then, once the statistics are available, how should they be handled? These are some of the questions considered here.

Kidney stone analysis.

Why analyze kidney stones? This is more than an academic question, for the answer may help the physician identify the source of the stone. A calcium stone (about 90 percent of stones contain calcium) often signifies hypercalcemia; uric acid stone, accelerated nucleic acid breakdown; triple phosphate stone, urinary tract infection; and cystine or xanthine stone, inborn metabolic errors.