Arsenic (Blood)

Arsenic (As) exists in a number of toxic and nontoxic forms. The toxic forms are the inorganic species As(+5), also denoted as As(V), the more toxic As(+3), also known as As(III), and their partially detoxified metabolites, monomethylarsine (MMA) and dimethylarsine (DMA). Detoxification occurs in the liver as As(+3) is oxidized to As(+5) and then methylated to MMA and DMA. As a result of these detoxification steps, As(+3) and As(+5) are found in the urine shortly after ingestion, whereas MMA and DMA are the species that predominate more than 24 hours after ingestion.

Specimen: Serum

Reference Values: <0.13 umol/l             

Method: Photometric 

Loinc: 5585-5