A kinetic model of cadmium metabolism in the human being

Abstract An eight-compartment kinetic model for the metabolism of cadmium was formulated based on animal and human tissue distribution data. The flow of cadmium between the compartments was generally assumed to follow first-order exponential functions. The 21 distribution coefficients were estimated by fitting the calculated cadmium concentrations in kidney, liver, urine, blood, and other tissues to the observed concentrations for Swedes with different smoking habits and with and without occupational cadmium exposure. The calculated tissue concentrations for Japanese persons also agreed with observed concentrations. The model was used to calculate the daily cadmium intake necessary to reach critical concentration in kidney cortex. The average renal cortex concentration would reach 200 μg/g at an average daily cadmium intake via food of 440 μg for a European-American population and 325 μg for a Japanese population.