The realization that the enzyme systems and meta bolic processes responsible for the maintenance of cellular

function are dependent on an environment with stable electrolyte and hydrogen ion concentra tions led Claude Bernard, over 100 year s ago, to describe the 'milieu interior'. Complex homeostatic mechanisms have evolved to maintain the constancy of this internal environment and thus prevent cellular dysfunction.

BASIC DEFINITIONS
Osmosis refers to the movement of solvent molecules across a membrane into a region in which there is a higher concentration of solute. This movement may b e p re vent ed b y app l yin g a p r es su re to th e mor e concentrated solution - the effective osmotic pres sure. This is a colligative property; the magnitude of e f fe c t i ve os mot ic pr e s sur e e xer ted b y a solution depends on the number rather than the type of parti cles present. The amounts of osmotically active particles present in solution are expressed in osmoles. One osmole of a substance is equal to its molecular weight in grams, (1 mol) divided by the number of freely moving particles which each molecule liberates in solution. Thus, 180 g of glucose in 1 L of water represents a solution with a molar concentration of 1 mol L- 1 and an osmolarity of 1 osmol L- 1 . Sodium chloride ionizes in solution and each ion represents an osmotically active particle. Assuming complete dissociation into Ne and Cl-, 58.5 g of NaCl dissolved in 1 L of water has a molar concentration of 1 mol L-1 and an osmolarity of 2 osmol L-1 . In body fluids, solute concentrations are much lower ( m m o l L - 1 ) a n d d i s s o c i a t i o n i s i n c o m p l e t e . Consequently, a solution of NaCI containing 1 mmol L-1 contributes slightly less than 2 mosmol L-1. The term osmolality refers to the number of osmoles per unit of total weight of solvent and, unlike osmolar-