is this a BRS path error?

[nuclearrabbit77]

is this a BRS pathology error?
pg. 294 second edition....


"ammonium magnesium phosphate stones are radiolucent."

they are radioopaque aren't they?

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[ckent]

They are radiolucent but can become visible on x-ray or CT scan secondary to being complexed with calcium phosphate.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

You guys are so smart. I don't think I'd ever catch an error. Although once in 4th grade, we were doing math races at the board, and the answer in the teacher's edition was wrong and mine was right. he he he That's my claim to fame.

 

[ckent]

The BRS newer editions are pretty free of errors secondary to going through so many editions and revisions. If you want to find a book with a lot of errors, I would reccomend that you check out the first version of "Step Up: USMLE I study guide". That book was so riddled with errors that a year or two later, they had to release edition 1, the revised edition. It's a strong book though, and I'm not discouraging anybody from purchasing the revised or newer editions. It's actually almost as good as First Aid in terms of crammable material. I'd reccommend purchasing the newest edition of that book sometime during second year.

 

[moo]

hey, someone in our sgs group pointed that same error out. I think our leader agreed, so it is an error.

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

well, harrison's said it was radioopaque as well. (Harrison's 15th edition pg. 1616)

methinks it has to do with that a PURE magnesium ammonium phosphate crystal is radiolucent, but clinically speaking, calcium is substituted into the matrix for magnesium occasionally (since they are both divalent), enough to make it considered radioopaque. this is all circumspect though....

 

[CYP2E1]

Struvite stones are opaque by nature (even ?pure? struvite stones), however Rabbit is right that in clinical reality they are often complexed with calcium phosphate. Some work has been done with dog calculi that looked at concentric lamination variations between these two types of stones.