Cadmium deposition in canine heart and major arteries following intravascular administration of cadmium chloride.

The examination of ten arterial specimens from nine experimental dogs shows a generally persistent accumulation of cadmium in the blood vessels following acute cadmium exposure. Gel filtration analysis of the aorta revealed that this vascular cadmium is largely confined to the insoluble cellular compartment. The left and right ventricles of cadmium-treated dogs showed a cadmium deposition which significantly decreased over the five week period subsequent to exposure. Within all three time intervals, heart cadmium exceeded the level in any of the arteries examined. Control heart, renal and subclavian arteries, and ascending and thoracic aorta were all found to contain intrinsic cadmium. Of the arterial specimens examined, cadmium deposition was generally greatest in the renal arteries and lowest in the femoral and popliteal arteries.