Calculus

(kal'ku-lūs.) [ L., a pebble. ] (Physiol.) A name generally given to hard abnormal concretions, not bony, which are formed in the bodies of animals. Biliary calculi are those found in the gallbladder; urinary calculi, those found in the urinary bladder. The disease of C. in the bladder is called lithiasis; in the kidneys, nephritis. The chalk-stones or concretions formed on the joints of gouty subjects are called arthritic calculi; when deposited in the articulations, articular calculi. - (Math.) A term which, taken in its widest sense, extends from the simplest numerical operations to the highest combinations of the transcendental analysis. Leaving aside the simple proce es of numerical computation, C. maybe said to be the discovery of unknown quantities from known quantities. [s. 130]