Intrahepatic distribution of vitamin A in humans and rats.

Liver vitamin A was determined in 10 different regions of the liver from 13 rats and 17 human individuals deceased of various causes. Linear regression analysis and comparison of the values obtained from the different anatomical regions showed that, despite a high degree of heterogeneity in distribution and lack of a consistent pattern, samples from any of the sites analyzed ensure representativeness of the whole liver concentration, taken as the average of the values from the 10 samples of each liver. This means that properly trained personnel, but not necessarily specialized, could draw the liver samples, thus significantly reducing the cost of surveys of vitamin A status based on liver reserves of the vitamin determined at autopsy.