PATHOLOGIC AND BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN SKELETAL DYSTROPHIES

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Abstract
An accurate interpretation of changes in the body associated with demineralization of the skeleton is dependent on knowledge of the metabolism of the mineral elements which are essential to the formation and function of bone. The bony skeleton of the human body is more than a supporting structure. It is a reservoir or storehouse of calcium and phosphorus. Bone is not an inanimate substance comparable to a block of stone or a column of cement. It is a living tissue made rigid enough to support the body by the calcium carbonate and phosphate salts biologically laid down in it. In the adult as well as in the child these bone salts are continuously removed and renewed, so that there are a constant flow of both calcium and phosphorus away from the bones into the body fluids and a redeposition of similar salts, which have been absorbed from the intestinal tract.