Acid-Base Balance and Removal of Injected Calcium From the Circulation

¹ From the Department of Biochemistry, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois

A study was made of the effect of acute disturbances in acid-base balance in otherwise healthy adult dogs, on the rate of removal from the circulation of injected calcium (15 mg/kg). A marked increase in the rate of removal of injected calcium was observed to occur in all animals having high plasma bicarbonate values, except those with respiratory acidosis. The most rapid removal of injected calcium, approximately five times the normal rate, occurred in animals with alkali excess compensated by the inhalation of high concentrations of carbon dioxide. The accelerated removal of injected calcium could not be accounted for by increased excretion in the urine. These animals had essentially normal blood ph values. The calcium space was reduced in ammonium chloride acidosis, but the slope of the disappearance curve for calcium was normal. Carbon dioxide excess was accompanied by an elevation of the plasma concentration of inorganic phosphate.