ABSTRACT
The routes by which a foreign chemical is taken into a terrestrial animal for the most part do not apply to fish. The distribution into various organs is influenced by the route of uptake. This is because xenobiotics that enter the circulation via the gills can be rapidly distributed throughout the body to all organs. The rate of metal uptake into the gill tissue correlates with the weight-specific metabolic rate, thus small fish accumulate it more rapidly than large ones. Laboratory derived estimates of residue accumulation from water neglect uptake via the food, so they may greatly underestimate what would be found in fish taken from the natural environment. These include size of fish, lipid stores, temperature, age of the fish, and the processes of biotransformation and excretion. Accumulation of copper by liver can be greatly influenced by the nutritional level of the experimental fish.
