The sensitive calcium meter The amount of calcium in the blood is a

very important factor in human survival. In order for a human to survive, he needs to not only breathe and drink water, but he must also have a certain amount of calcium in his blood. If the level of calcium in the blood falls below what is required, death will result. In the five liters of blood in your body, there needs to be a total of only half a gram of calcium. If there is any more or less than this, serious illness or even death may result. Calcium ensures the operation of several vital functions in our bodies.

After we have seen the importance of the amount of calcium in the blood, this question inevitably comes to mind: what is the mechanism that determines this amount that is so vital for life? The answer to this question reveals another wonder of creation. Buried inside the thyroid gland is another hormonal gland called the parathyroid.
On the right, we see the parathyroid glands. When the amount of calcium in the blood falls, the parathyroid releases a wonderfully designed hormone called parathormone. It is remarkable that a piece of flesh can recognize calcium, measure it and make a decision based on the results of that measurement.

PTH regulates plasma calcium concentration through three main effects:

(1) by stimulating bone resorption; (2) by stimulating activation of vitamin D, which then increases intestinal reabsorption of calcium; and (3) by directly increasing renal tubular calcium reabsorption

Intestinal Absorption and Fecal Excretion of Calcium and Phosphate. & Actions of Vitamin D Vitamin D Vitamin D increases calcium absorption from the gastrointestinal tract The active form of vitamin itself functions as a type of hormone to promote intestinal absorption of calcium. It does this principally by increasing, over a period of about 2 days, formation of a calcium-binding protein in the intestinal epithelial cells.

Control of Calcium Excretion by the Kidneys Because calcium is both filtered and reabsorbed in the kidneys but not secreted, the rate of renal calcium excretion is calculated as Renal calcium excretion = Calcium filtered - Calcium reabsorbed

About 41 per cent of the plasma calcium is bound to plasma proteins and is therefore not filtered by the glomerular capillaries. The rest is combined with anions such as phosphate (9 per cent) or ionized (50 per cent) and is filtered through the glomeruli into the renal tubules.

Almost all the calcium in the body (99 per cent) is stored in the bone, with only about 1 per cent in the extracellular fluid and 0.1 per cent in the intracellular fluid. The bone, therefore, acts as a large reservoir for storing calcium and as a source of calcium when extracellular fluid calcium concentration tends to decrease.

Deposition of Bone by the Osteoblasts & Absorption of BoneFunction of the Osteoclasts

Bone is continually being deposited by osteoblasts, and it is continually being absorbed where osteoclasts are active (Figure 794). A small amount of osteoblastic activity occurs continually in all living bones (on about 4 per cent of all surfaces at any given time in an adult), so that at least some new bone is being formed constantly. Bone is also being continually absorbed in the presence of osteoclasts, The osteoclasts are normally active on less than 1 per cent of the bone surfaces of an adult

Control of the Rate of Bone Deposition by Bone Stress.

Bone is deposited in proportion to the compressional load that the bone must carry. For instance, the bones of athletes become considerably heavier than those of nonathletes. Also, if a person has one leg in a cast but continues to walk on the opposite leg, the bone of the leg in the cast becomes thin and as much as 30 per cent decalcified within a few weeks, whereas the opposite bone remains thick and normally calcified. Therefore, continual physical stress stimulates osteoblastic deposition and calcification of bone.

Estrogen hormone
Decreased estrogen level during the menopause process increases bone resorbtion and osteoporosis development rate.

growth hormone
muscle and bone cells divide and multiply throughout their period of development. Again, it is the growth hormone that in forms the cells how much they must divide.

Smoking Smokers suffer from lower bone density and a higher risk of fracture than non-smokers. Studies on smoking and bone health have turned up a host of other dire effects, from direct toxic effects of nicotine on bone cells to blocking the body's ability to use estrogen, calcium, and vitamin D.