Studies on the Absorption and Excretion of Silicon.
Institution: | McGill University |
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Department: | Department of Biochemistry. |
Degree: | MS. |
Year: | 1952 |
Keywords: | Chemistry - Biochemistry |
Record ID: | 1504858 |
Full text PDF: | http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/thesisfile108608.pdf |
It has long been known that silica is present in all vegetable and animal tissues. Most of it appears to be in a soluble form which is readily absorbed by the gut and excreted in the urine. A considerable fraction is also present in the skin, hair and other tissues. But the state of its occurrence is not known. The observation from spectroscopic analyses performed in our laboratory a few years ago, that silica is invariably present in the hard tissues and tends to be much higher in certain organs, prompted the present study, with a view to establishing whether there is a functional metabolism of silicon, or whether its presence is merely accidental. [...]