Akira Nakao

Studies on the nature of bone carbonate

Abstract 1. 1. The portion of the carbonate of bone which has recently exchanged with the soluble carbon system during life is the portion most susceptible to physical and chemical loss and exchange. 2. 2. Anatomical location does not seem to be very important in the slow aspects of exchange of bone carbonate in fully grown rats. 3. 3. The fraction of freely exchangeable carbonate is approximately the same in vitro as it has been found to be in vivo . 4. 4. In finely ground rabbit bone, the exchangeable fractions of carbonate and phosphate seem to be approximately the same. It is likely that “preferential solubility” of carbonate is merely the result of “incongruent solubility” and does not necessarily prove bone carbonate to be surface bound.