Multicompartment kinetic model for lead. III. Lead in blood plasma and erythrocytes.

Multicompartment models have been fitted to experimental data on plasma lead and blood lead concentrations of subjects studied by P. E. deSilva (Brit. J. Ind. Med. 38, 209-217, 1981) and one subject studied by W.I. Manton and C.R. Malloy (Brit. J. Ind. Med. 40, 51-57, 1983). Nonlinear models for plasma lead vs blood lead in populations provide significantly better descriptions than does a linear model. Short-term kinetic data do not clearly resolve the precise nonlinear mechanism, however, Parameters of plasma and erythrocyte distribution in a single subject were significantly different on two occasions.