Bone Density Measurements throughout the Life Cycle of the Rat

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Abstract
The effect of calcium intake, growth, reproduction and senescence on the bone density of rats was studied through 2 generations. A low bone density index was accompanied by retarded growth and poor lactation. A high bone density is indicative of an adequate calcium status, but if it is achieved at the expense of normal growth and reproduction, then the intake producing this density cannot be considered adequate. The mean range of bone densities of rats 74 days old to death fed 0.1% dietary calcium was 0.39 to 0.66 x-ray equivalent grams of ivory/cm3 of bone, whereas that of rats fed 0.5% dietary calcium ad libitum was 0.73 to 0.91. With restricted consumption, diets containing 0.3 and 0.5% calcium produced variable physiological performance as a resultant of concomitant effects of growth, lactation and calcium intake.