Simultaneous accumulation of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in varioushuman arteries

To elucidate compositional changes of the arteries with aging, the authors investigated the relationships among average contents of calcium, phosphoru s, sulfur, and magnesium in the arteries by inductively coupled plasma-atom ic emission spectrometry. The arteries used were the thoracic and abdominal aortas, coronary, common carotid, anterior, middle and posterior cerebral, vertebral, basilar, internal thoracic, axillary, radial, truncus celiacus, common, internal and external iliac, femoral, popliteal, and umbilical art eries. It was found that high correlations were found between the average c ontents of calcium and phosphorus, between the average contents of calcium and magnesium, and between the average contents of phosphorus and magnesium in the arteries, but not between the average contents of sulfur and the ot her elements. These correlations revealed that as the content of calcium an d phosphorus increased in the arteries, the magnesium content increased sim ultaneously in the arteries, but the sulfur content did not. It is likely t hat magnesium forms compounds with phosphorus in the arteries.