Microscopic Distribution of Californium-249 and Berkelium-249 in the Soft Tissues of Beagles

Abstract

The microscopic distribution pattern of ²⁴⁹Cf and ²⁴⁹Bk in the soft tissues of beagles, one to three weeks following a single intravenous injection of a citrate solution, was found to be very similar to that of 241P > Am. Relatively high concentrations occurred in the hepatic cells of the liver, the glomeruli of the kidney, the interfollicular region of the thyroid, the cartilaginous tissues of the lung, and the media of the smaller arterioles of most organs. Very intense, but sparsely scattered “hot spots” were also present in the renal papillae and in the submucosa of the bronchioles. Lesser sites of localization were the endocardium of the AV heart valves, the glassy membranes of the larger hairs of the coat, the zona pellucida of the Graafian follicles and the zona arcuata of the adrenal cortex. With the exception of the liver, where the radionuclide was principally within the hepatic cells, most of the deposition sites were extracellular, within or associated with connective tissue which gave a positive periodic acid-Schiff reaction.