calcification

American  

[kal-suh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌkæl sə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• calcifications
  plural

1. a changing into lime.

2. Physiology. the deposition of lime or insoluble salts of calcium and magnesium, as in a tissue.

3. Anatomy, Geology. a calcified formation.

4. a soil process in which the surface soil is supplied with calcium in such a way that the soil colloids are always close to saturation.

5. a hardening or solidifying; rigidity.

   As the conflict developed, there was an increasing calcification of attitudes on both sides.

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calcification British  

/ ˌkælsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the process of calcifying or becoming calcified

2. pathol a tissue hardened by deposition of lime salts

3. any calcified object or formation

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calcification Scientific  

/ kăl′sə-fĭ-kā′shən /

1. Medicine

   1. The accumulation of calcium or calcium salts in a body tissue. Calcification normally occurs in the formation of bone, but can be deposited abnormally, as in the lungs.

   2. A structure that has undergone calcification.

2. Geology

   1. The replacement of organic material, especially original hard material such as bone, with calcium carbonate during the process of fossilization.

   2. The accumulation of calcium in certain soils, especially soils of cool temperate regions where leaching takes place very slowly.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• calcifications
  plural

Etymology

Origin of calcification

First recorded in 1840–50; calcific + -ation

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

calcification calcifications

Mammograms may be used to reveal calcification in breast arteries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

She stated the actual cause of death was narrowing and "calcification of his coronary arteries due to old age".

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025

In addition to breast density, their machine-learning tool considers changes in other patterns in the images, including in texture, calcification and asymmetry within the breasts.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2024

For type 2 diabetes, the analyses show that so-called bad cholesterol plays a major role in carotid artery calcification, and that lower levels of triglycerides significantly reduce the risk of peripheral arterial disease.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024

Radiogram showing calcification of both radial and ulnar arteries 42 7.

From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Louis Marshall Warfield

“One of the reasons why clinicians use this is because there is data that shows when there are coronary calcifications patients are more likely to take medications and to adopt other preventive therapies,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

“No significant masses, calcifications or other findings are seen in either breast.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

The complete absence of coronary calcifications, on the other hand, is a good indicator of the absence of advanced atherosclerosis.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2024

Cespedes will undergo a pair of surgeries to remove calcifications in both of his heels, an ailment that has bothered him dating back to his teenage years.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 26, 2018

If Cespedes’s assertion on Friday is true — that painful calcifications in his heels cause his chronic leg problems, and only surgery can fix it — he should not be playing.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2018