The examination of the urinary sediment of a 64-year-old woman showed the presence of three different types of crystals, all with unusual morphology, which could not be identified with bright field microscopy, polarized light, and the knowledge of urine pH (7.5). The use of microscopic infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy led to the identification of the three types of crystals as calcite, vaterite and aragonite, which are all variants of calcium carbonate crystals. This paper confirms the complex morphology and nature that urinary crystals may at times have and the utility of advanced infrared spectroscopy techniques for their identification.
Keywords: Calcium carbonate crystals; Energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy; Infrared microspectroscopy; Raman spectroscopy; Urinary sediment.
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