What does lithiasis mean?
Lithiasis is a medical term for the formation or accumulation of stone-like deposits, known as calculi, within a body organ or passage. Its most familiar use is in the urinary tract, where renal lithiasis refers to the formation of kidney stones and urinary lithiasis encompasses calculi forming in the urinary system. Biliary lithiasis similarly describes stone formation in the gallbladder or bile ducts. The word is primarily formal and clinical: in general discussion, people are more likely to say “kidney stones” or “gallstones.” Lithiasis usually names the condition rather than the stone itself; “calculus” is the more precise term for an individual concretion. Although the plural “lithiases” is standard, most medical usage treats lithiasis as an uncountable condition name. Its Greek ancestry is especially revealing, because the word combines the root for “stone” with a suffix denoting a medical condition, making its meaning both precise and memorable.
nounThe formation or accumulation of stone-like concretions, called calculi, in a body organ or passage, especially within the urinary tract.
- The formation or accumulation of stone-like concretions, called calculi, in an organ or passage, especially within the urinary tract.
"The ultrasound confirmed renal lithiasis and showed a small stone lodged in the kidney."
"The scan confirmed renal lithiasis and showed a small stone lodged in the kidney."
"Recurrent urinary tract lithiasis prompted the specialist to investigate the patient's underlying metabolic disorder."
The plural is grammatically standard but uncommon, because lithiasis is generally used as an uncountable term for the condition.
"Recurrent urinary lithiases require further investigation."
Lithiasis literally describes the formation of stone: its Greek roots combine “stone” with a suffix meaning a medical condition.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lithiasis come from?
Lithiasis comes through New Latin from Ancient Greek lithiasis, a term formed from lithos, meaning “stone,” and the suffix -iasis, denoting a condition or formation. The element lithos also underlies English words such as lithic, lithography, lithosphere, and megalith. Its development into English preserved the original sense of the formation of stone or a stone-like concretion.
How lithiasis is actually used
This is a formal medical term. It ordinarily denotes the condition of forming or having calculi, rather than an individual stone, for which “calculus” is normally used.