An analytical procedure was developed for the determination of lead in different tissues from Wistar
Hanover rats, previously intoxicated with lead acetate during atoxicological study. About 25 mg of
dried sample (bone, liver, kidney, heart, lungandspleen) were mixed with 8.0 mL of 7.00 mol L 1 nitric
acid and digested using microwave radiation in closed vessel. Except for the bone samples, the other
tissues could also be analyzed after alkaline solubilization with TMAH. All the digested or solubilized
samples were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Good accuracy and
precision were attained when analyzing reference standard materials (forbone, liverandkidney) and
also from addition to recovery experiments (forheart,lungandspleentissues). The method was
applied to samples from nine animals and the results suggested that there is a profile for lead
bioaccumulation in these animals, which seemed to adapt themselves to continuous lead exposure.