Apatite determination and distribution in an early stage of gallbladder calcification.

This study is concerned with the nature and distribution of mineral in the gallbladder of a patient with chronic cholecystitis. Light and electron microscopic imaging revealed the mineral to be in the epithelial cells of the mucosa and fibroblasts of the submucosa. In the epithelial cells at the early stages of deposition, mineral was located in the nuclei and throughout the cytoplasm in association with interdigitating cell processes and apical microvilli but was absent in mitochondria. Elemental and electron diffraction analyses indicated the mineral inclusions to be apatite in nature.