Chemicals and Drugs

Calcium

A basic element found in nearly all tissues. It is a member of the alkaline earth family of metals with the atomic symbol Ca, atomic number 20, and atomic weight 40. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and combines with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate in the bones and teeth. It is essential for the normal functioning of nerves and muscles and plays a role in blood coagulation (as factor IV) and in many enzymatic processes.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

A basic element found in nearly all tissues. It is a member of the alkaline earth family of metals with the atomic symbol Ca, atomic number 20, and atomic weight 40. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and combines with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate in the bones and teeth. It is essential for the normal functioning of nerves and muscles and plays a role in blood coagulation (as factor IV) and in many enzymatic processes.

Chemical Identity

Chemical Information

Molecular Formula
Ca
Molecular Weight
40.08 g/mol
CAS Registry No.
7440-70-2
IUPAC Name
calcium
InChIKey
OYPRJOBELJOOCE-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
[Ca]
MeSH Unique ID
D002118
Source
PubChem CID 5460341

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Narrower headings

Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

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Drug Class

Pharmacological Action

MeSH Record

See Also

MeSH Record

Synonyms

6 entry terms
  • Blood Coagulation Factor IV
  • Calcium-40
  • Coagulation Factor IV
  • Factor IV
  • Calcium 40
  • Factor IV, Coagulation

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

24 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings administration & dosage, adverse effects, agonists, analysis, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemistry, classification, deficiency, economics, history, immunology, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, physiology, poisoning, radiation effects, standards, supply & distribution, therapeutic use, toxicity, urine.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

/ antag permitted but consider also CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS; / blood: note HYPOCALCEMIA and HYPERCALCEMIA are available; / defic: consider also HYPOCALCEMIA & note that CALCIUM, DIETARY is also available; CALCIUM CHANNELS and CALCIUM SIGNALING are also available; metabolic disorders = CALCIUM METABOLISM DISORDERS

MeSH Record

History Note

/metabolism was CALCIUM METABOLISM 1965

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. D01w.268w.552w.100w
  2. D01w.552w.539w.288w
  3. D23.119.100w

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Calcium. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D002118. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D002118
  2. Calcium. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium
  3. Calcium. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q706
  4. Calcium. In: PubChem Compound. CID 5460341. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5460341