Iodine content of human tissues after administration of iodine containing drugs or contrast media.

Total iodine contents were determined in 209 bioptic or autoptic specimens of various extrathyroidal tissues. Fifty-two of the 80 subjects examined had no previous exposure to excessive iodine, 24 were tested after administration of x-ray contrast media and 4 after treatment with various iodine containing drugs. Unexposed subjects had tissue iodine contents (mean +/- SD) ranging from 0.85 +/- 0.17 microgram/100 g in the brain and 9.78 +/- 2.75 microgram/100 g in the liver of adults. A significantly lower iodine concentration was found in the liver of newborns (2.79 +/- 1.00 microgram, p less than 0.001). Most of the other tissues had iodine concentrations of 2-4 microgram/100 g. Subjects with previous exposure to iodine containing drugs or x-ray contrast media showed increased iodine contents of various degree in all examined tissues, including adipose tissue, bone, brain, kidney, liver, lung, skeletal muscle, skin and spleen. Accumulation of iodine in adipose tissue was still demonstrable more than two years after cholecystography.