Alkaline Earth Metals

Alkaline Earth Metals

Members of group 2 of the periodic table (second vertical column) are called earth alkaline metals. In this group are included the following elements: beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba) and radium (Ra). Radium is a radioactive element and therefore we will not further discuss it in this chapter (Figure 3.1).

In terms of clinical use, magnesium and calcium are essential ions for the human body and any of their imbalances should be corrected. Strontium is medically used in radiotherapy, and its application is further discussed in Chapter 10. Exposure to excess beryllium can lead to the so-called chronic beryllium disease (CBD), which is discussed later in this chapter. Barium salts are generally highly toxic. Nevertheless, the so-called barium meal is a well-used oral radio-contrast agent.