The most common composition of kidney stones in the urinary tract consist of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate, or uric acid, etc. However, the stones may occur as a combination of these constituents, called 'mixed stones'.

Kidney stones in the urinary tract may remain asymptomatic for long periods of time, and may be initially detected by routine X-rays. Stones which are stagnant / motionless in any part of the urinary tract may not show symptoms, although they may cause kidney damage as they grow in size. However, the patient starts to develop severe pain (renal colic) as the stone starts moving downward into the kidney collecting ducts and ureters.

Renal colic pain is usually treated with intravenous fluids and the administration of analgesic medications.  Blood may also pass into the urine during an attack of renal colic, as a result of injury or inflammation in the urinary tract, caused by stones. Infection will also occur in the urinary tract due to the slowing down of the flow of urine in which contributes to the growth of abnormal bacteria in the kidney (pyelonephritis).

It is usually recommended that kidney stones that are sizable be removed as soon as possible after the acute attack has resolved, so that recurrent urinary tract infections are avoided. If neglected, the renal stones may cause repeated attacks of renal colic, and the obstruction in the urinary tract will continue to grow due to the increase in the size of the stone, which may result in chronic irreversible kidney disease. Thankfully, small stones which cause little or no obstruction are usually pushed down and out, when the patient takes plenty of fluids, at least 3 liters of water per day.

If the kidney stones cannot be passed with copious amounts of fluids, then the urologist may decide that the stones must be removed either surgically, or by lithotripsy. Lithotripsy is a non-surgical method of removing stones from the urinary tract. It is called extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL), and in this procedure electrically generated shock-waves are focused on the stone and fragment it. Hence this mode of non-surgical therapy is ideal as it excludes surgery and late complications.

Diagnostic tests like plain X-ray as well as ultrasonography of the urinary tract are important in order to detect the exact location of the stone, and to see the extent of damage caused to the urinary tract by the stone.  However, uric acid stones are not detected by X-rays. Therefore, an intravenous pyelography may be required in some of the cases, to prove the presence of stones in the urinary tract. Intravenous pyelography is also useful in locating any associated lesions of the urinary tract, such as a stricture, horseshoe kidneys, etc.

It is essential that the stones be analyzed after passing out through the urine in order to evaluate their exact composition. Dietary measures may be prescribed, depending on the stone analysis report.

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