Retention of Orally Administered ⁴⁷Ca in Man Measured in a Whole-Body Counter

Abstract

A method is described for studying the retention of orally administered ⁴⁷Ca using a whole-body counter. Two μCi ⁴⁷Ca were given after an overnight fast together with calcium carrier as CaCl₂ in water, and the retention was measured after one and two weeks. The error due to geometric and biologic variations was 1.7 per cent of the given dose. In 27 healthy subjects the retention of ⁴⁷Ca one week after the administration was 35.7 ± 7.6 (S. D.) per cent of the given dose and after two weeks 29.3 ± 7.4 (S. D.) per cent.

Key Words:

• ⁴⁷Ca retention
• calcium absorption
• whole-body counter