The strontium content of bones and teeth of human foetuses

The concentration of strontium was determined in bone and tooth ash of human foetuses 5-9 months old from regions with different water supplies (Beer-Sheva, Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv). The material was collected about 8 yr ago. Strontium was detected in the femoral and mandibular bones as early as the fifth month of foetal development (the earliest age for which material was available) and the concentrations were similar in all areas. The strontium concentration increased significantly from the 5th to the 7th month in the bone ash of the foetuses from the Beer-Sheva area, but no such increase with age was found in foetuses from the Tel-Aviv area. The concentration of strontium in the bone ash of 7-9 months old foetuses from Jerusalem was similar to that in foetuses of corresponding age from the Tel-Aviv area. The concentration of strontium in the tooth ash of 7-9 months old foetuses of each area was similar to and paralleled that of the bones of a corresponding age. It is suggested that the differences between the strontium concentrations of the hard tissues of the foetuses in the Beer-Sheva area on the one hand and the Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem areas on the other are due to differences in the strontium contents of the drinking water supplied during pregnancy. It is of interest that present drinking water sources, some of which were in use at the time the material was collected, have a higher strontium content in the Beer-Sheva area than in the Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem areas.