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Dystrophic calcification

Etiology: • Secondary to tissue necrosis from any cause.

Pathogenesis: • The precise pathogenesis is unknown. • It appears that necrotic material needs to stay unresorbed for prolonged periods for dystrophic calcium deposition. • The calcium is derived from serum and not from the tissue itself.

Epidemiology: • Common.

General Gross Description: • Appear at white, chalky streaks in tissue. • Can be gritty to the touch or rock hard, depending upon and extent and whether or not ossification has occured. • Commonly seen in atheromatous plaques, heart valves, and near the pancreas, especially after attacks of acute pancreatitis.

General Microscopic Description: • Appears in routine histological sections (stained with H&E) as deep purple deposits in necrotic tissue.

Clinical Correlations: • Small deposits of calcium in necrotic tissue are clinically without consequence. • However, if calcification occurs in degenerating heart valves, the ensuing rigidity of the valve leaflets can impede blood flow. • This can have serious hemodynamic consequences.

References: •Robbins "Pathologic Basis of Disease". (Cotran, Kumar and Robbins, Eds.) 5th Edition. pp 17, 31.