Distribution of Radioactive Calcium, Strontium, Barium and Radium Following Intravenous Injection into a Healthy Man

Abstract

Plasma concentrations were measured for 7 days and urinary and faecal excretions for 1 month or more following intravenous injections of ⁴⁷Ca, ⁸⁵Sr, ¹³³Ba and ²²³Ra into a healthy man. The metabolism of ¹³³Ba and ²²³Ra was very similar, so that Ba may be regarded as a good tracer for Ra. The difference in metabolism of ⁴⁷Ca and ⁸⁵Sr, was quite marked. The ratios of the cumulative urine to the cumulative faecal excretion of the injected dose rapidly approached a constant value of 0·52 for ⁴⁷Ca, 0·24 for ⁸⁵Sr, 9·0 for ¹³³Ba and 36·0 for ²²³Ra. The calculated tissue uptake reached a maximum in about 1½ hours for ¹³³Ba and ²²³Ra and at about 20 hours for ⁴⁷Ca and ⁸⁵Sr. For Ca, Sr and Ba the derived tissue content was between 0·3 and 0·4 per cent of the respective whole-body content.