ABSTRACT
It has long been recognized that serum phosphate concentration is higher in children than in adults. The high serum phosphate concentration in infancy and childhood is an important factor in the need for the growing skeleton as a value of serum phosphate concentration of 3.2 mg/dl, which is adequate for the adult, will result in bone and cartilage hypomineralization in the infant. It is also very possible that the high serum phosphate concentration in the young is also required for the adequate supply of the mineral for the growth need of nonosseous tissues. With the increasing knowledge in phosphate physiology, it is now clear that the main determinant of serum phosphate concentration is the renal handling of phosphate (Chapters 2 and 5).
