BIOL 2020 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2.5: Fluid Compartments, Homeostasis, Magnesium
7 May 2020
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Calcium: 20th element of periodic table, valence: +2 (divalent cation, magnesium- looks like calcium, 5th most abundant element, sea water 400 mg/l. Calcium: is very difficult to absorb. To absorb calcium, it needs to have a +2 charge on it. Why: calcium is highly aabundant- 4% of earth"s crust has calcium in it. Sea water contains as much calcium as milk. Electrolyte composition of body fluids: calcium is not respected. Of all the things you measure, coefficient of varitation of calcium is 3-5%. So, if you have too low/high a level of calcium, you will have some problems: bar gaph: shows mmol/l of various compounds. If ca2+ is important, why is it not in intracellular fluid (1micromol/l). Calcium is available inside cell at very low concentrations (1000x less than ca2+ in blood). It is important for stability of biological membranes and subcellular signalling. It is also the structural compoenent of bone (emergency bank for ca2+).
