Tissue distribution and metabolism of drugs. II. Accumulation and permeation of drugs in the rabbit pancreas.

Abstract
Tissue distribution and penetration of drugs were measured in the rabbit pancreas cannulated into the pancreatic duct for the collection of pancreatic juice. Drugs with high lipid solubility were easily distributed within the pancreas. The lipid solubility of drugs appears to be the most important factor determining their distribution in the pancreas. Small molecules were rapidly penetrated from blood to pancreatic juice if they were lipid soluble. Permeability of drugs through the pancreas was dependent on their molecular size and lipid solubility. Increased penetration of drugs by the retrograde infusion of HgCl2 solution through the pancreatic duct suggested that both the lipid barrier and molecular sieve barrier would be a complex multicellular system and exist independently surrounding the pancreatic duct.