Accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls in steroidgenic tissue of gonads and adrenals in Japanese quail.

Female quail exhibited a high uptake of PCB in the yolk of growing follicles, in the thecal gland cells and the medullary interstitial tissue of the ovary and in the postovulatory and atretic follicles. Uptake in the shell gland was low. An elimination study of four days indicated that the major part of PCB is excreted via the eggs. Male quails showed a very low uptake of PCB in the testes and no accumulation was in the interstitium. The uptake in the fat, liver, and adrenals was similar to that in the females.