<unk> , niu-huang (牛黃) or ox bezoars are dried gallstones of cattle used in Chinese herbology. In China and Japan it has been long used to treat various diseases, including high fever, convulsion and stroke. In Asian countries,<unk>  are sometimes harvested when steers (Bos taurus domesticus Gmelin) are slaughtered. Their gall bladders are taken out, the bile is filtered, and the stones are cleaned and dried. The bezoars may also be surgically removed by veterinarians when working cattle become ill. In western countries, they are usually discarded. Its equivalent in Vedic culture is Gorochana.<unk>  have a color varying from golden yellow to brownish yellow. The shape of a stone is variable and depends on how it was formed, becoming spherical, oval, triangular, tubular, or irregular. Since natural<unk>  are scarce, they can be very expensive. There are artificial<unk>  or<unk> <unk>  artifactus used as substitutes. In China, these are manufactured from cholic acid derived from<unk> e bile combined with dry<unk> e bile powder, porcine ursodeoxycholic acid, taurine, bilirubin, cholesterol, etc. Chinese regulations forbid the use of artificial<unk>  in 42 drugs.<unk>  can cultivated (induced) in vivo by implanting a foreign object and microbials into<unk> e biles. It can also be cultivated (precipitated) in vitro from<unk> e bile by adding ursodeoxycholic acid, cholic acid, and calcium bilirubinate, producing<unk>  sativus. Unlike artificial<unk> , either type of cultivated<unk>  can fully replace<unk>  under Chinese regulations.
Calculus bovis
Pyogenic granuloma
Silica granuloma
Actinic granuloma
Silicone granuloma
Acne conglobata
Acanthoma fissuratum
Osteoma cutis