To a limited extent, mercuric mercury crosses the blood–brain and placental barriers.
However, mercuric mercury does accumulate in the placenta, fetal membranes, andamniotic
fluid. The rate of uptake from blood and different organs varies widely, as does the rate of
elimination from different organs. Thus, the distribution of mercury within the body and
within organs varies widely with dose and time lapse after absorption. Yet, under all
conditions, the dominating mercury pool in the body after exposure to mercuric mercury is
the kidney. Inorganic divalent mercury can induce metallothionein, and a large proportion of
the mercury in the kidneys is soluble and bound to this molecule.