Trace Elements

A practical guide to microelements tests: preparation, typical ranges, result meaning, and what to discuss at follow-up.

Inorganic phosphorus in urine

In rickets, the amount of phosphorus excreted in urine increases 2-10 times compared to the norm. Phosphaturia is most pronounced in so-called phosphate diabetes.

Inorganic phosphorus in the blood

Phosphorus in the body is contained in inorganic (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium phosphates) and organic (carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, etc.) compounds. Phosphorus is necessary for bone formation and cellular energy metabolism. Approximately 85% of all phosphorus in the body is in the bones, most of the rest is inside the cells, and only 1% is in the extracellular fluid.

Total calcium in urine

In metabolic equilibrium, the daily urinary calcium excretion corresponds to intestinal calcium absorption. Urinary calcium excretion depends on the amount of calcium filtered in the glomeruli and tubular reabsorption. Ionized calcium and calcium in complex with low-molecular anions (approximately 60% of the total amount in the blood serum) are filtered in the glomeruli.

Causes of increased calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia)

Hypercalcemia is almost always the result of increased calcium intake into the blood from resorbed bone tissue or from food in conditions of decreased renal clearance. More than 90% of hypercalcemia cases are caused by primary hyperparathyroidism and malignant neoplasms.

Total and ionized calcium in the blood

The physiological significance of calcium is to reduce the ability of tissue colloids to bind water, reduce the permeability of tissue membranes, participate in the construction of the skeleton and the hemostasis system, as well as in neuromuscular activity. It has the ability to accumulate in places of tissue damage by various pathological processes.

Sodium in the urine

Sodium is a threshold substance, and an increase in its concentration in the blood leads to an increase in its excretion. To judge the sodium balance in the body, it is necessary to simultaneously determine its content in the blood and urine.

Potassium in the urine

Potassium in urine is an important marker, an indicator of normal, healthy nutrition, as well as the state of the hormonal system, an assessment of the degree of intoxication, if diagnosed. In addition, potassium in urine is a sign of normal kidney function.

Blood sodium

Sodium is the main cation of extracellular fluid, where its concentration is 6-10 times higher than inside cells. The physiological significance of sodium is to maintain osmotic pressure and pH in intra- and extracellular spaces, it affects the processes of nervous activity, the state of the muscular and cardiovascular systems and the ability of tissue colloids to "swell".

Potassium in the blood

Potassium plays a vital role in muscle contraction, heart function, nerve impulse transmission, enzymatic processes and metabolism.

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