Passing a kidney stone is often compared to the pain of childbirth — and when you see what they actually look like under a microscope, that comparison makes chilling sense.
Captured in stunning detail under a scanning electron microscope at Eastfield College in Dallas, the true form of a kidney stone is revealed: jagged, spiky crystals that resemble miniature shards of glass. These aren’t smooth pebbles — they’re razor-like formations of calcium and uric acid that look built to inflict pain.
Murry Gans, the lab coordinator at Eastfield, took these microscopic images back in 2012 after a colleague brought him a kidney stone to analyze. The up-close view shows chaotic clusters of crystal spikes — a visual explanation for why passing a stone can be such a torturous experience.
Kidney stones form when your urine can’t dilute certain substances properly, such as calcium, oxalate, or uric acid. When these elements accumulate, they bind together into crystals. Over time, those crystals can grow into full-fledged stones. If one of these sharp-edged masses travels from the kidney into the ureter — the narrow duct leading to the bladder — it can cause excruciating pain, nausea, and even blood in the urine.
Not all kidney stones are the same. Some are small enough to pass unnoticed. Others, larger and more jagged, may require medical intervention like shockwave lithotripsy — a treatment that uses sound waves to break the stone into smaller, passable fragments.
Multiple factors contribute to kidney stone formation: genetics, diet, dehydration, and metabolic disorders all play a role. And while the pain of passing a stone may fade, these images leave a lasting impression — a microscopic reminder of how something so small can cause such immense suffering.
So next time you reach for a glass of water, think of those jagged spikes of pain — and drink up. Your kidneys will thank you.
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