Hypermagnesemia in Renal Failure
Authors: RUSSELL E. RANDALL
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1964)

Article1 July 1964Hypermagnesemia in Renal FailureEtiology and Toxic ManifestationsRUSSELL E. RANDALL JR., M.D., M. DAVID COHEN, M.D., CHARLES C. SPRAY JR., M.D., ELSIE C. ROSSMEISL, M.A.RUSSELL E. RANDALL JR., M.D., M. DAVID COHEN, M.D., CHARLES C. SPRAY JR., M.D., ELSIE C. ROSSMEISL, M.A.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-61-1-73 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptMagnesium is the fourth most abundant cation in the body. In a 70-kg man there are approximately 1,000 mEq of magnesium in bone, another 1,000 mEq within cells, and 20 mEq in plasma and interstitial fluid. In normal persons all the magnesium absorbed from the intestinal tract is excreted by the kidneys, as is parenterally administered magnesium (1-5). If the dietary intake of magnesium is curtailed, renal conservation of magnesium occurs (3, 6), and if magnesium depletion results from extra-renal losses, magnesium virtually disappears from the urine (3-5, 7).In renal disease the ability to excrete magnesium may be severely...References1. MENDELBENEDICT LBSR: The paths of excretion for inorganic compounds. IV. The excretion of magnesium. Amer. J. Physiol. 25: 1, 1909. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. MCCANCEWIDDOWSON RAEM: Fate of calcium and magnesium after intravenous administration to normal persons. Biochem. J. 33: 523, 1939. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. FITZGERALDFOURMAN MGP: An experimental study of magnesium deficiency in man. Clin. Sci. 15: 635, 1956. MedlineGoogle Scholar4. MCCOLLISTERFLINKDOE RJEBRP: Magnesium balance studies in chronic alcoholism. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 55: 98, 1960. Google Scholar5. FOURMANMORGAN PDB: Chronic magnesium deficiency. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 21: 34, 1962. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. 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Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Boston, MassachusettsFrom the Medical Service and the Research Laboratory, Boston Veterans Administration Hospital, and the Departments of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.Portions of this work were presented at the Forty-fourth Annual Session of the American College of Physicians, Denver, Colorado, April 3, 1963.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Russell E. Randall, Jr., Veterans Administration Hospital, 150 S. Huntington Avenue, Boston 30, Massachusetts. 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