The distribution and fate of 14C-chloramphenicol in the new-born pig.

The distribution of 14C-chloramphenicol has been studied in new-born pigs with the aid of whole-body autoradiography. In the lung, liver, adrenal cortex, kidney, myocardium, pancreas, thyroid, spleen and skeletal muscle the amounts of radioactivity were higher than that of the blood short time after injection and remained higher than the blood up to 8 hrs. After 4 and 8 hrs the brain concentration of 14C was also higher than that of the blood. In the bone marrow, however, the concentration did not reach that of the blood during the whole experiment. In the organs more than 90% of the radioactivity was represented by chloramphenicol: the excretory organs, thyroids, and adrenals being exceptions.