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

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

The commercially available AI system used for screening was trained by deep learning models to highlight and rate suspicious lesions and calcifications within mammograms.

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

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

From Salon

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

From Science Daily