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

Seeing a scan with calcification can help sway patients on the fence, many of whom are hesitant to take medications like statins, says Khan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 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

Nevertheless, individuals who had large amounts of damaged teeth possessed higher rates of inflammation, brain tissue loss and aortic valve calcification.

From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2024

"The presence of coronary artery calcification indicates that atherosclerosis may have been present for some time."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2024

It is invaluable when the patient is limited for time or means, and also for filling the first permanent molars, where we so often find poor calcification of tooth-structure.

From Tin Foil and Its Combinations for Filling Teeth by Henry Lovejoy Ambler

“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

She cried because Alícia had “such a little head,” but doctors waited a month to tell her Alícia had microcephaly and brain calcifications, confirmed by a brain scan.

From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2017