Answer to Question #325202 in Human Anatomy and Physiology for Bri

Question

A hypothetical drug binds with calcium in the bloodstream, making it unavailable to cells. 

A.     Explain the cellular effect this would have on skeletal muscle cells    What would the implications be on bone, and what system/mechanism in the body will try to compensate for the lower levels of calcium. How would it do so?

Answer 1

Calcium is important to the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscle fiber. Inside the muscle, calcium facilitates the interaction between actin and myosin during contractions. So decreased amount of calcium leads to muscle weakness, inability to properly contract. Heart is comprised of muscle tissue, so hypocalcemia affects the function of blood pump too.

A long-term calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, which causes the bones to become brittle.

The parathyroid glands sense the amount of calcium in the blood and produce increased amounts of parathyroid hormone,if the calcium level drops. This hormone helps to reduce the loss of calcium in the urine and releases some calcium from the bones.