Outlook and Future Aims

The content of this book reflects much contemporary knowledge on the role of metal ions and their compounds in clinical chemistry, especially on the procedures for their analytical determination. However, it can also be recognized that much work has yet to be done e.g., in many instances the so-called normal levels of an element are ill defined or unknown for various metals the knowledge on the physiological properties is incomplete furthermore, the speciation, i.e., the form in which the metals exist in blood, serum, urine, etc., is often only vaguely or not at all understood. 

It is evident drat the missing information on the indicated problems can only be obtained by a close collaboration of scientists from different disciplines, such as inorganic, analytical, and clinical chemistry physiology enzymology toxicology and medicine. No isolated specialist can solve such complex problems on his own  

BAT biologischer Arbeitsstoff-Toleranzwert = biological tolerance value for a working material for the detailed definition see [31] or section 3.2 in chapter 1 of [5] 

BEI biological exposure indices for the detailed definition see [32] (cf. also [5]) 

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