Calcium and Phosphorus Requirements of Bobwhite Quail Chicks

The most prominent function of calcium and phosphorus is, of course, the formation of the skeleton, approximately 99 per cent of the calcium and 80 per cent of the phosphorus of the body being present in the bones. Nevertheless, in addition to this very weighty role, these minerals have a significant part in maintaining the necessary osmotic pressure and surface tension of the body-fluids, regulating the hydrogen ion concentration of blood and tissues, maintaining acid-base equilibrium, acting as integral portions of living protoplasm, and influencing the response of muscles and nerves to stimuli. Serum calcium also, like vitamin K, is essential for the clotting of blood. These two elements, like other minerals taken into a vertebrate animal's