Role of magnesium in the growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate and calcium oxalate dihydrate crystals.

Since about 85% of synthesized calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) crystals proved not to have changed into calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals at 30 min of incubation time at 37 degrees C when our evaluation method of the COD-to-COM ratio was being used, we made a comparative study of the inhibitory effects of magnesium, one of the well-known inhibitors of calcium oxalate stone formation, on the growth of seeded COM and COD crystals. The results demonstrated that magnesium in identical concentrations might have stronger inhibitory effects on the growth of COM crystals than on that of COD crystals and suggested that these different effects of magnesium on the growth of COM and COD crystals might arise not only from the difference between the specific surface areas of COM and COD crystals, but also from that between the direct inhibitory effects of magnesium on these two types of calcium oxalate crystal growth.