title: Silicon compatible with the height of human vertebral column.
abstract: In the study on human vertebral composites, silicon was found to be related to the height of the vertebral column. The element ratio of silicon to calcium in the lumbar vertebra was twice that of the lowest one in the cervical vertebra. The element ratio gradually increased from approx 0.5 at the cervical vertebra to approx 1.0 at the lumbar one. Silicon is preserved catastropically much more in the lower height of the backbone in contrast with the calcium amount, and the ratio to sulfur appears to be unchanged. This suggests that silicon is compatible with the biokinetics of the vertebral bone structure of calcium.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Anatomy, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Nara 634-8521, Japan.
authors.forename: Masa-Oki
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tohno
authors.forename: Setsuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tohno
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Utsumi
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriwake
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001827:Body Height; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D008903:Minerals / Q000378:metabolism; D012825:Silicon / Q000378:metabolism*; D013131:Spine / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D012825:Silicon