calcification

[ kal-suh-fi-key-shuhn ]

noun

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.

calcification

/ 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of calcification¹

First recorded in 1840–50; calcific + -ation

Example Sentences

“But there’s been a calcification of the larger theaters. They are afraid to do important work. Before the pandemic, Center Theatre Group, which was already in trouble, spent more than $40 million on a season that included a number of touring productions. Our culture is stuck in these old habits of thinking. I have a horse in the race, but imagine if that $40 million went to eight smaller theaters. Imagine the kind of artistic boost that could happen.”

From Los Angeles Times

This calcification does not bode well for a democracy’s ability to address differences among politicians and voters or to find common ground.

From Los Angeles Times

Based on hundreds of statistical analyses, various complications in blood vessels outside the central organs have been investigated: carotid artery calcification and similar, hernia of the carotid artery, rupture of the inner wall of the carotid artery, calcification of the abdominal aorta and peripheral blood vessels in the lower extremities, and small vessel disease in the feet.

From Science Daily

These complications include carotid artery calcification, calcification of the abdominal aorta and peripheral vessels in the lower extremities, and small vessel disease in the feet.

From Science Daily

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