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Differential Diagnosis of Soft Tissue Calcification

  • Chapter
Soft Tissue Ossification

Abstract

Deposition of calcium salts is normally restricted to the skeleton. Ectopic or heterotopic calcification refers to calcium deposition in any other tissue, and these may be subdivided into the soft tissues and the viscera. The soft tissues include: skin, fat, skeletal muscle, cartilage, fibrous connective tissue, blood vessels, peripheral nerves and lymph nodes. Soft tissue calcification may occur either as amorphous masses or upon an ordered collagenous matrix as ectopic bone. This distinction is obvious histologically and can usually be made on a radiograph by the demonstration of trabeculation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duncan Guthrie Institute of Medical Genetics, Yorkhill, Glasgow, G3 8SJ, Scotland

    J. M. Connor BSc, MB, ChB, MD, MRCP (Consultant in Medical Genetics)

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  1. J. M. Connor BSc, MB, ChB, MD, MRCP
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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Connor, J.M. (1983). Differential Diagnosis of Soft Tissue Calcification. In: Soft Tissue Ossification. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1343-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1343-0_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-1345-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-1343-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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