Abstract
Summary
The effects of fluoride intake on disuse atrophy of the femoral bone were investigated in rats after severing the right sciatic and femoral nerves. X-ray radiograms of the femora were made. Calcium content of the blood, specific gravity, ash percentage and calcium and fluoride content of both femora were determined in operated and non-operated rats drinking distilled or fluoridated (25 ppm) water for 2 months after starting the experiment. The results showed that fluoride counteracts the typical bone atrophy syndrome; it reduces the calcium content of the serum and prevents bone resorption. It is suggested that increased bone resorption is prevented by a reprecipitation of calcium as fluorapatite of low solubility on the surface of the bone crystals.
Acknowledgement is made gratefully to Ziporah Pinchevski for technical assistance in this study.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.