Mineral Metabolism 



HENKY A. MATTILL 



AND 



HELEN I. MATTILL 



ROCHESTER 



According to Albu-Neuberg the mineral constituents of the adult, hu- 

 man body amount to 4.3-4.4 per cent. In this ash occur the elements Ca, 

 P, K, S, Cl, Na, Mg, I, F, Fe, Br, Al, named in the order of decreasing 

 amounts (Hackh). Any statement regarding exact amounts of the differ- 

 ent elements is fraught with uncertainty for two reasons : first the paucity 

 of reliable analytical data, secondly the individual variability due in part 

 to differences in the organism, in part to differences in food habits and 

 possibly to the existence of pathological conditions. The ash constituents 

 of the new-born have been determined by Camerer and Soldner with re- 

 sults which show considerably more uniformity than do those on the adult. 

 They find 2.10 to 2.73 per cent ash of which 38.5 per cent is P 2 O 5 , 36.1 

 per cent CaO, 9.1 per cent Na 2 O, 7.8 per cent K 2 O, 7.7 per cent Cl, 0.9 

 per cent MgO and 0.8 per cent Fe 2 O 3 . As compared with the adult these 

 values are characterized by low total ash, CaO and P 2 O 5 , and by high Fe. 



About 5/6 of the total ash occurs in the bones. Fresh bones contain 

 about 35 per cent ash, about 84 per cent of which is Ca :{ (PO 4 ) 2 , 1 per cent. 

 Mg 3 (PO 4 ) 2 and 7.5 per cent other Ca salts. About 99 per cent of the Ca 

 in the organism is in the bones, about 70 per cent of the Mg and about 

 75 per cent of the P. 



In a comparative study of the composition of the teeth of man and dog 

 Gassmann(a) found 74-82 per cent ash. He was not able to recognize F. 

 He found Ca and P most abundant, organic matter lowest,, in the wisdom 

 tooth, while organic matter was high and Ca and P low in the dog's tooth. 



Cartilage contains only 1-6 per cent of mineral matter and its ash 

 is higher in Na than that of any other tissue of the body, and is also 

 characterized by a large amount of sulphates, which probably existed as 

 organically combined S in the fresh tissue. 



It may be safely assumed that the bone portion of the ash constituents 

 is subject to less rapid metabolic changes than the remaining 1/6, of which 

 the greater half is found in the muscles, the lesser half in the blood and 



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