ABSTRACT
The term most commonly used is mineral to represent each of the elements found in biological material, although some elements such as iodine and ˜uorine are not minerals; however, custom has established this terminology. Some minerals occur in the body tissues in relatively large amounts (100 milligrams to gram quantities) and are designated as macrominerals, while others are present in much smaller concentrations (milligrams or micrograms). Such small concentrations were not easily quantižed by early analytical methods and were called “trace minerals” or elements. The development of instruments with increased sensitivity has enabled investigators to study the role of these trace elements more carefully.
