METABOLISM IN THE RAT STUDIED BY ISOTOPE TECHNIQUES. II. THE BODY BURDEN OF MERCURY AFTER SINGLE AND MULTIPLE INJECTIONS

Technical Report · Thu Jul 16 04:00:00 EDT 1959

OSTI ID:4232466

Rothstein, A; Hayes, A

BS>The whole-body counts indicate three phases in the clearance of mercury from rats, a rapid phase involving 35% of the dose, lasting for a few days; a slower phase involving 50% of the dose with a haif time of 30 days, and finally a slow phase involving 15% of the dose with a half time of approximately 100 days. After the first few days, most of the mercury is located in the kidney so that the two slow phases of excretion represent mainly the clearances from the kidney. The patterns were the same for mercury whether administered by the intravenous or the intramuscular route. With different dose levels (5 to 50 mu g per rat) the clearances by whole-body counting were approximately the same on a percentage basis. The pattern of distribution in the organs was also similar for all dosages except for a somewhat smaller localization in the kidney at lower doses. This, in turn, may be related to changes in excretion patterns. With lower doses the urinary excretion was diminished, but the fecal excretion was increased, so that total excretion was only slightly altered. With a series of five injections at 21day intervals, each dose was handled in the same way with respect to total clearance from the body and tissue distribution. No special localization was found in the brain which might be related to the chronic toxic manifestations of mercury on the central nervous system. (auth)

• Research Organization: Rochester, N.Y. Univ. Atomic Energy Project
• NSA Number: NSA-14-002284
• OSTI ID: 4232466
• Report Number(s): UR-556
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BODY
BRAIN
COUNTERS
HALF-LIFE
INTESTINE
KIDNEYS
MERCURY ISOTOPES
METABOLISM
RATS
TISSUES
TOXICITY
URINE