Mercury biodistribution in rats after chronic exposure to mercury chloride

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the distribution of mercury in rats after controlled chronic exposure to three different doses of HgCl2 for 30 days. Samples of blood, brain, liver, testis, heart, and kidneys were collected for mercury determination. Although the rats were exposed to different doses, the Hg levels in blood were similar among the groups under study. However, the distribution of mercury in the organs have substantially differed between low and high doses. There was a significant tendency to high deposition in the liver and kidney. The deposition profile in the tissues suggests that the level of mercury remains relatively low in blood while it is deposited at preferential sites such as liver and kidney, demonstrating that, at least at the doses studied, the screening for Hg exposure is unreliable by blood sample analysis.