Calcium deficiency can cause bone mineralization to cease.

• A. Bones become denser.
• B. Blood calcium increases.
• C. Bone mineralization ceases.
• D. Bone lengthens rapidly.

Answer: (C)

Calcium is essential for bone mineralization, providing the mineral component that hardens the bone matrix as it forms. When calcium is deficient, osteoid is laid down but cannot be properly mineralized, so bone mineralization diminishes or stops, leading to softer bones and conditions like rickets or osteomalacia. This is why the statement about mineralization ceasing is the best description of the effect. If calcium is deficient, blood calcium would not rise; it typically falls as the body mobilizes calcium from bone to maintain serum levels. Densification would require more mineral, not less, and rapid lengthening would imply continued, healthy mineralization, which deficiency disrupts.