Our results indicate that reductions in hypercalcemia play a critical role in preventing the early lethality of CaR−/− mice and that defects in endochondral bone formation in CaR−/− mice result from effects of the marked elevation in serum calcium concentration and the decreases in serum phosphorus concentration and skeletal PTHrP levels, whereas the increased osteoblastic bone formation results from direct effects of PTH. This evidence concerns the gene PTHLH and Hypercalcemia.