A general multiple-compartment model for the transport of trace elements through animals.

Multiple-compartment models employed in the analysis of trace element transport in animals are often based on linear differential equations which relate the rate of change of contaminant (or contaminant concentration) in each compartment to the amount of contaminant (or contaminant concentration) in every other compartment in the system. This has the serious disadvantage of mixing intrinsic physiological properties with the geometry of the animal. The basic equations on which the model presented here is developed are derived from the actual physical process under way and are capable of separating intrinsic physiological properties from geometry. It is thus expected that rate coefficients determined through this model will be applicable to a wider category of physiologically similar animals. A specific application of the model for the study of contamination of sheep--or indeed for any ruminant--is presented, and the temporal evolution of contaminant concentration in the various compartments of the animal is calculated. The application of this model to a system of compartments with changing geometry is also presented.