[Pathology of coronary arterial calcification].

Calcification is an invariable component of advanced coronary artery atherosclerosis. Recent study showed that genetic variations such as matrix inhibitory proteins, polymorphisms for tumor necrosis factor, and inflammatory cytokines may influence coronary artery calcification. And also there have been numerous studies on screening patients for coronary artery disease using electron beam computed tomography, but details of mechanism on calcification have still been unclear. An example of coronary calcification in diabetic patients disclosed that its diffuse distribution might be metabolic on calcification mechanism.