ABSTRACT
The relationships between the concentration of fluoride in serum and that in other compartments of the body is important in evaluating toxicity and the likelihood of idiosyncratic responses. Compartmental analysis involves the selection of as simple a mathemathical model of the behavior of a substance as is consistent with its known behavior. Homeostasis would require a complex model, one in which the transport rate coefficient varied as a function of the concentration of fluoride. There is some diurnal variation in the serum fluoride which should be considered first when relating the serum fluoride concentration to long-term intake. The renal clearance may not be a constant and might provide a degree of long-term homeostasis of a type different from that suggested by Singer and Armstrong. The fluoride concentration in human milk is important in that it represents a natural standard or reference point for evaluating fluoride intake and fluoride supplement levels for infants who drink bottled milk.
