Fractional intestinal absorption and retention of calcium measured by whole-body counting. Application of a power function model

By application of a power function model, fractional intestinal calcium absorption was investigated with a new technique involving whole-body counting after successive oral and intravenous administration of standard doses of 47Ca. The fractional calcium retention 7 days after the oral load of 47Ca was also measured. Fractional calcium retention averaged 30.3% in normal subjects and 11.5% in 11 patients with intestinal malabsorption. In the same groups fractional calcium absorption averaged 46.6% and 16.4%, respectively. Fractional calcium retention and intestinal calcium absorption were significantly correlated to body surface area, and there was a well-defined relation between fractional retention and absorption of calcium. These studies demonstrate that measurements of fractional retention and fractional intestinal absorption of calcium can be combined by the use of a whole-body counter, that fractional retention and intestinal absorption are proportional to total body surface area and therefore probably also to the total bone mass, and that fractional retention and absorption are so closely interrelated that frational absorption can be estimated from fractional retention with reasonable accuracy in normal subjects. (auth.)