Chapter 46

Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base

Balance
Functions of Water in the Body
• Transporting nutrients to cells and wastes from cells
• Transporting hormones, enzymes, blood platelets, and
red and white blood cells
• Facilitating cellular metabolism and proper cellular
chemical functioning
• Acting as a solvent for electrolytes and nonelectrolytes
• Helping maintain normal body temperature
• Facilitating digestion and promoting elimination
• Acting as a tissue lubricant
Two Compartments of Fluid in the Body
• Intracellular fluid (ICF) — fluid within cells (70%)
• Extracellular fluid (ECF) — fluid outside cells (30%)
– Includes intravascular and interstitial fluids
Variations in Fluid Content
• Healthy person — total body water is 50% to 60% of
body weight
• An infant has considerably more body fluid and ECF than
an adult
– More prone to fluid volume deficits
• Sex and amount of fat cells affect body water
– Women and obese people have less body water
Fluid Balance
• Solvents — liquids that hold a substance in solution
(water)
• Solutes — substances dissolved in a solution (electrolytes
and non-electrolytes)
Major Electrolytes/Chief Function
• Sodium — controls and regulates volume of body fluids
• Potassium — chief regulator of cellular enzyme activity and
water content
• Calcium — nerve impulse, blood clotting, muscle
contraction, B12 absorption
• Magnesium — metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins,
vital actions involving enzymes
• Chloride — maintains osmotic pressure in blood, produces
hydrochloric acid
• Bicarbonate — body’s primary buffer system
• Phosphate — involved in important chemical reactions in
body, cell division and hereditary traits
Transporting Body Fluids
• Osmosis — water passes from area of lesser solute
concentration to greater concentration until equilibrium is
established
• Diffusion — tendency of solutes to move freely
throughout a solvent (“downhill”)
• Active transport — requires energy for movement of
substances through cell membrane from lesser solute
concentration to higher solute concentration
• Filtration — passage of fluid through permeable
membrane from area of higher to lower pressure
Osmolarity of a solution
• Isotonic — same concentration of particles as plasma
• Hypertonic — greater concentration of particles than
plasma
• Hypotonic — lesser concentration of particles than
plasma
Source of Fluids for the Body
• Ingested liquids
• Food
• Metabolism
Fluid Losses
• Kidneys — urine
• Intestinal tract — feces
• Skin — perspiration
• Insensible water loss
Primary Organs of Homeostasis
• Kidneys normally filter 170 L plasma, excrete 1.5 L urine.
• Cardiovascular system pumps and carries nutrients and
water in body.
• Lungs regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels of
blood.
• Adrenal glands help body conserve sodium, save chloride
and water, and excrete potassium.
• Thyroid gland increases blood flow in body and increases
renal circulation.
Primary Organs of Homeostasis
(continued)
• Parathyroid glands regulate the level of calcium in ECF.
• GI tract absorbs water and nutrients that enter body
though this route.
• Nervous system is a switchboard to inhibit and stimulate
fluid balance (thirst center and ADH storage).
• End……….
Acid-Base Balance (pH)
• Acid — substance containing hydrogen ions that can be
liberated or released
• Base — substance that can trap hydrogen ions