Tissue Cadmium Concentration in Man

Samples of whole kidney and liver tissue obtained at postmortem from 80 individuals were ashed and concentrations of cadmium, zinc, and lead were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopic examination. After clinical records and autopsy reports were reviewed, the patients were divided into four groups on the basis of antecedent. One group was characterized by hypertensive cardiovascular disease; another by ischemic cardiac or cerebrovascular disease; and another by neoplastic disease. The members of the fourth group had none of these diseases and served as control subjects. There was no significant difference in tissue cadmium or zinc concentrations or in the molar ratio of cadmium to zinc between the control group and the others, with the exception of patients with neoplasia who exhibited a wide and unpredictable variation in tissue metal content.