Normal Serum Calcium Levels by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Normal adult calcium levels were established with the atomic absorption spectro-photometric technic of Zettner and Seligson (1). Significant differences in calcium concentration were shown to exist between the sexes. Three commonly employed serum treatment technics were compared; two gave equivalent results. THE INITIAL STUDIES BY WILLIS (2, 3) and the more recent work of Zettner and Seligson (i) and others (4-7, 9-11) have proven the utility of atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) in the clinical laboratory. However, until very recently there has been very little if any published information dealing with normal serum calcium values by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (11). The primary purpose of this study was to establish normal adult calcium levels for our com-munity. Method and Instrumentation Calcium was determined directly on diluted serum using the method of Zettner and Seligson (1), with a slight change in the dilution ratio. Assays were performed on a Techtron Model AA-3 atomic absorptio