Relationships between cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in the serum of humans, calves, rabbits and chickens

In humans, calves and rabbits very strong correlations were found between the concentrations of serum total cholesterol and phospholipids; in these species more than 70% of the variance in the level of serum phospholipids is accounted for by the variance in the serum cholesterol concentration. The regression coefficients in the equations relating the concentration of serum cholesterol to that of phospholipids were almost identical in humans and rabbits, but differed from those observed in calves and chickens. It is suggested that the rabbit is a suitable model animal for studying the relation between cholesterol and phospholipids in human serum.