Lanthanum

**Semantic type:** Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** A silvery white metallic element that belongs to period 6 of the lanthanoids family, with phosphate binding property. Lanthanum, when administered in a salt form, dissociates in acid to release lanthanum ions, which then bind dietary phosphate. This agent inhibits the absorption of phosphate by forming highly insoluble lanthanum-phosphate complexes that reduce concentrations of serum phosphate and calcium phosphate.

**Synonyms:** - LANTHANUM - La