During the past two decades, we have analyzed more than a half-million uroliths submitted to the Minnesota Urolith Center. Experience has taught us that we cannot reliably judge their mineral composition by their external appearance. Although evaluation of the outer surface of urinary stones often provides useful information, one must also consider what is beneath the surface in order to obtain reliable diagnostic data. In like fashion, the importance of examining what lies within a patient is the cornerstone of the discipline of internal medicine.
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