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Time History of Human Gallstones: Application of the Post-Bomb Radiocarbon Signal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ellen M Druffel  and
Henry Y I Mok
Ellen M Druffel
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543
Henry Y I Mok
Affiliation:
Woodland Clinic Medical Group, Woodland, California 95695
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Abstract

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Bomb-produced 14C is a valuable tool for studying rates of short-term processes involving carbon cycling. This study shows that bomb 14C is an excellent tracer of a biochemical process that takes place in the human body, namely the accretion of stones in the gallbladder. The methods developed for obtaining time histories of 14C/12C and 13C/12C in concentric layers from a large gallstone (30mm diameter) are reported. Formation times are assigned by matching the 14C/12C obtained from individual layers with those found for known-aged tree rings. Results show that the gallstone grew over a period of 10 years and seems to have lain dormant within the gallbladder for a period of 11 years. The average growth rate was 1.5mm/year.

Type
VI. Anthropogenic 14C Variations
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 25 , Issue 2: 11th International Radiocarbon Conference , 1983 , pp. 629 - 636
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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