45Ca kinetics and calcium balance studies allow for the simultaneous determination of calcium movement in the intestines, kidneys and bones. Since the flow of minerals in each of these organs depends on those in other organs, it is important to evaluate calcium movement as a whole throughout the entire body. Morphological methods can be used to evaluate local bone formation and resorption microscopically within defined windows. However, bone remodeling does not proceed equally in every part of the skeleton, and local events tend to be misread as general phenomena. Although variables such as bone formation and resorption obtained in 45Ca kinetics and calcium balance studies tell nothing about the location of these events, and the concept of compartments can be somewhat difficult to understand, this method is still useful for obtaining quite reliable results compared to those obtained by other methods. Our review describes the concept of the compartment model and explains the pertinent methods in comparison with other methods.
