Study on the changes of metal elemental contents in whole blood and bone during fracture healing

Abstract The radii of 72 rabbits were fractured by operation and the contents of elements P, S, K, Ca, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn in whole blood of the rabbits during fracture healing were determined by proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The contents of Ca and Fe in whole blood were almost kept constant and the contents of other elements varied significantly during fracture healing. The contents of elements K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn in bone for 48 rabbits fractured in radius of limb during healing were also analyzed by PIXE. Various absorbers were tested to improve the PIXE spectra of bone samples and the spectra with much better quality were obtained using some kinds of combined absorbers. The changes of the contents of elements Sr and Fe in bone were shown as a concave shape and convex one respectively, during healing period.