Tissue/blood partition coefficients for xenon in various adipose tissue depots in man

Abstract

Tissue/blood partition coefficients (λ) for xenon were calculated for subcutaneous adipose tissue from the abdominal wall and the thigh, and for the perirenal adipose tissue after chemical analysis of the tissues for lipid, water and protein content. The Δ in the perirenal tissue was found to correlate linearly to the relative body weight (RBW) in per cent with the regression equation Δ=0.045·RBW+0.99. The subcutaneous Δ on the abdomen correlated linearly to the local skinfold thickness (SFT) with the equation Δ=0.22 SFT+2.99. Similarly Δ on the thigh correlated to SFT with the equation Δ =0.20·SFT+4.63. It is concluded that the previously accepted Δ value of 10 is generally too high in perirenal as well as in subcutaneous tissue. Thus, by application of the present regression equations, it is possible to obtain more exact estimates of the adipose tissue blood flow measured with the ¹³³Xe wash-out method.