THE PARATHYROIDAL FUNCTION IN LONG TERM DIETARY EXPERIMENTS

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Ca and P content of the blood, the excretion of urine and the cytology of the parathyroids of rats were studied for periods up to 1 yr. With a diet rich in P a continuous hyperfunction and hyperplasia of the parathyroids occurred. Values for the blood-P fell and remained low, while the Ca values were normal or only slightly reduced. With a Ca-rich diet an atrophy of the parathyroids was observed. The blood-Ca was first high, but then fell to a subnormal level. The blood-P rose during the later part of the expt. It was concluded that the blood-P could scarcely be the primary regulator of parathyroidal function and that probably the blood-Ca or some fraction of it might be the primary factor.