Occurrence of Arsenic in Selected Parts of the Human Femur Head

An osseous tissue represents a specific repository of many metals. Some of them are physiologically accumulated in the skeleton, while others remain in the bones as a result of exposure and can be the cause of pathological states. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and co-occurrence of As with trace elements in the femur head; analyzing their concentration in male and female femur head morphological sections in relation to established As contents in air dust in different locations in Silesia. The statistical characteristics of the occurrence of the element was determined using ICP (inductively coupled plasma), the spectrometry method with an Optima 3000 DV (Perkin-Elmer) apparatus. The average geometric mean values detected were the same for male and female subjects in the articular cartilage (0.09 μg As/g), cortical bone (0.16 μg As/g and 0.09 in the male and female subjects, respectively), and trabecular bone (0.07 μg As/g for females 0.09 μg As/g for males). The arsenic concentrations in the specified sections of the femur head were lower than those reported in previous publications.