Randall’s plaque of patients with nephrolithiasis begins in basement membranes of thin loops of Henle
J. Clin. Invest. Andrew P. Evan, et al. 111:607 doi:10.1172/JCI17038 [Go to this article.]

Figure 7
Pattern of intraluminal crystal deposition in medullary tissue of bypass patients. In (a), early crystal attachment to the apical surface of several collecting duct cells is shown in a 1-μm plastic section. At this stage, these collecting ducts have a mixture of normal and injured (*) cells. In (b), several cells are shown by transmission electron microscopy (see rectangle in a) that possess attached crystals (arrow). In (c), another 1-μm plastic section of a collecting duct shows complete crystallization of the tubular lumen and lining cells. In (d), an electron micrograph of a region of the collecting ducts seen in (c) is shown (see rectangle). No cellular detail remains; only crystalline material is found. Magnification, ×450 (a); ×6,400 (b); ×550 (c); ×4,000 (d).