A physiologically based biokinetic model for cesium in the human body.

ABSTRACT

A physiologically descriptive model of the biological behavior of cesium in the human body has been constructed around a detailed blood flow model. The rate of transfer from plasma into a tissue is determined by the blood perfusion rate and the tissue-specific extraction fraction of Cs during passage from arterial to venous plasma. Information on tissue-specific extraction of Cs is supplemented with information on the Cs analogues, K and Rb, and known patterns of discrimination between these metals by tissues. The rate of return from a tissue to plasma is estimated from the relative contents of Cs in plasma and the tissue at equilibrium as estimated from environmental studies. Transfers of Cs other than exchange between plasma and tissues (e.g. secretions into the gastrointestinal tract) are based on a combination of physiological considerations and empirical data on Cs or related elements. Model predictions are consistent with the sizable database on the time-dependent distribution and retention of radiocesium in the human body.