Reference Japanese Man-II. Distribution of Strontium in the Skeleton and in the Mass of Mineralized Bone

Abstract

The distribution of stable strontium concentration in different bones, as well as in a single bone, was studied. Dependence of the stable strontium-to-calcium ratio upon age was observed. A non-uniform distribution of the stable strontium to calcium ratio was found in both the skeleton and the single bone. We suggest the use of this phenomenon in predicting ⁹⁰Sr distribution in the human skeleton. Concentrations of stable strontium in bone were found to be relatively higher than reported data. The total skeletal content of strontium was re-estimated, taking into account the observed uneven distribution of this element in the skeleton. The observed ratio between the adult bone and diet was found to be 0.12 and that between fetal bone and the mother's diet 0.055. These values seem considerably lower than the reported data for the European and North American populations. The mass of “mineralized bone” of the Japanese adult male and female was estimated as 4.2 kg and 3.2 kg, respectively.