Distribution
Cadmium is widely distributed in the body, with the major portion of the body burden located in the liver and kidney. Liver and kidney cadmium concentrations are comparable after short-term exposure, but the kidney concentration exceeds the liver concentration following prolonged exposure (30% of Cd body burden in the kidney)
The concentration of cadmium in the liver of occupationally exposed workers generally increases in proportion to intensity and duration of exposures to values up to 100 µg/g. The concentration of cadmium in the kidney rises more slowly than in the liver after exposure and begins to decline after the onset of renal damage at a critical concentration of 160-285 µg/g
Most non-occupationally exposed people are exposed to cadmium primarily through the diet. Cadmium can be detected in virtually all tissues in adults from industrialized countries, with greatest concentrations in the liver and kidney.
Average cadmium concentrations in the kidney are at birth near zero , and rise roughly linearly with age to a peak (typically around 40-50 µg/g wet weight) between ages 50 and 60, after which kidney concentrations plateau or decline. Liver cadmium concentrations also begin near zero at birth , increase to typical values of 1-2 µg /g wet weight by age 20-25, then increase only slightly thereafter.