Fluoride Action Network

Abstract

Young pigs, fed for 30, 6o and 90 days on a diet containing 1,000 parts per million of sodium fluoride, have shown defective growth and mineralization of bones, costochondral beading, softened and deformed epiphyseal plates, and enlarged and malformed bone trabeculae.

Histochemical studies of demineralized sections have revealed a decrease in the stainable polysaccharides and an accumulation of salt, the solubility of which resembled that of calcium fluoride. The larger portion of the deposit observed in spodograms seemed related to an organic calcium combination, the significance of which is discussed in relation to the mechanism of mineralization and is compared with vitamin D deficiency and strontium rickets.