Influence of macrophages on microdistribution of inhaled UO2aerosol in rat lung

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Abstract
Following the inhalation of an aerosol of U02 (mass median aerodynamic diameter = 3μm and geometric standard deviation = 1.6) the lungs of male albino rats were populated by foci containing U02 particles. A method of neutron-induced autoradiography on Lexan plastic was used to reveal these foci in thin sections cut from the lung. For masses of U02 in the lung that differed by more than a factor of 10 (39 to 450μg) the number of foci per g of lung increased, but not in proportion to the mass of UO2 deposited. This limited increase in the number of foci was considered to result from physiological limitations on the number of alveolar macrophages available for engulfing the UO2 particles.