TOTAL BODY

WATER
D O N E B Y,
D . J AYA P R A D H A ( 1 9 P G F N 0 1 2 )
TOTAL BODY WATER
• In physiology, body water is the water content of an animal body that is contained in the
tissues, the blood, the bones.
• The percentage of body water contained in various fluid compartments add upto Total Body
Water (TBW).
• This water makes up a significant fraction of the human body, both by weight and by volume.
• By weight, the average human adult male is approximately 60% water and the average adult
female is approximately 55%.
• Body water is broken down into the following compartments:
1) Intracellular Fluid
2) Extracellular Fluid
Plasma
Interstitial Fluid
transcellular Fluid
FUNCTIONS OF WATER
• Water is a building block of new cells and the key nutrient every cell relies on for survival.

• Metabolizes and transports proteins and carbohydrates from the food.

• Water is a part of fluid that surrounds and protects the brain and a baby in the womb.

• Helps the body flush waste, mainly through urine.

• Helps in maintaining body temperature through sweat and respiration when the temperature
rises.

• Protects sensitive skin.

• Helps keeps joints lubricated.

NORMAL PERCENTAGE OF WATER IN
HUMAN BODY
TBW %

NEONATE 80%

INFANT 70%

CHILDREN 65%

ADULT MALE 60%

ADULT FEMALE 50%

DISTRIBUTION OF BODY WATER
WATER CONTENT OF BODY ORGANS

Water Percentage %

Brain 80-85%

Heart 75-80%

Lungs 75-80%

Liver 70-75%

Kidneys 80-85%
FLUID COMPARTMENTS
• Intracellular fluid(ICF), (2/3 of body water) is fluid contained within cells. In a 72-kg body
containing 40 litres of fluid, about 25 litres is intracellular,which amounts to 62.5%.

• Extracellular fluid(ECF), (1/3 of body water) is fluid contained in areas outside of cells. For
a 40-litre body, about 15 litres is extracellular, which amounts to 37.5%.

– Plasma (1/5 of extracellular fluid). Of this 15 litres of extracellular fluid, plasma volume
averages 3 litres, or 20%.

– Interstitial fluid (4/5 of extracellular fluid)

– Transcellular fluid contained inside organs, such as the gastrointestinal, cerebrospinal,

peritoneal, and ocular fluids.
INTERCELLULAR FLUID
• The ICF lies within cells and is the principal component of the cytosol/cytoplasm.

• The ICF makes up about 60 percent of the total water in the human body, and in an average-
size adult male, the ICF accounts for about 25 liters (seven gallons) of fluid.

• This fluid volume tends to be very stable, because the amount of water in living cells is closely
regulated.

• If the amount of water inside a cell falls to a value that is too low, the cytosol becomes too
concentrated with solutes to carry on normal cellular activities;

• If too much water enters a cell, the cell may burst and be destroyed.
EXTRACELLULAR FLUID
• The ECF accounts for the other one-third of the body’s water content. Approximately 20
percent of the ECF is found in plasma.

• Plasma travels through the body in blood vessels and transports a range of materials, including
blood cells, proteins (including clotting factors and antibodies), electrolytes, nutrients, gases,
and wastes.

• Gases, nutrients, and waste materials travel between capillaries and cells through the IF.

• Cells are separated from the IF by a selectively permeable cell membrane that helps regulate
the passage of materials between the IF and the interior of the cell.
EXTRACELLULAR FLUID
• The body has other water-based ECF.

• These include the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord, lymph, the synovial
fluid in joints, the pleural fluid in the pleural cavities, the pericardial fluid in the cardiac sac, the
peritoneal fluid in the peritoneal cavity, and the aqueous humor of the eye.

• Because these fluids are outside of cells, these fluids are also considered components of the
ECF compartment.
PROPORTION OF TOTAL BODY FLUID
IN BODY’S FLUID COMPARTMENTS

o Most of the water in the body is

Intracellular fluid(ICF)
o The second largest volume is the
interstitial fluid, which surrounds
cells that are not blood cells.
ESTIMATION OF TOTAL BODY WATER
Total body water can be estimated based on anthropometry
WATSON FORMULA:
For males,
Total Body Water = 2.447 – (0.09156 X age) + (0.1074 X height) + (0.3362 X weight)
For females,
Total Body Water = -2.097 + (0.1069 X height) + (0.2466 X weight)
HUME FORMULA:
For males,
Total Body Water = (0.194786 X height) + (0.296785 X weight) – 14.012934
For females,
Total Body Water = (0. 34454X height) + (0.183809 X weight) – 35.270121
COMPOSITION OF BODY FLUIDS
• The compositions of the two components of the ECF—plasma and IF—are more similar to
each other than either is to the ICF.

• Blood plasma has high concentrations of sodium, chloride, bicarbonate, and protein.

• The IF has high concentrations of sodium, chloride, and bicarbonate, but a relatively lower
concentration of protein.

• In contrast, the ICF has elevated amounts of potassium, phosphate, magnesium, and protein.
Overall, the ICF contains high concentrations of potassium and phosphate,

• Whereas both plasma and the ECF contain high concentrations of sodium and chloride.
• Most body fluids are neutral in charge.

• Thus, cations, or positively charged ions, and anions, or negatively charged ions, are balanced in
fluids. As seen in the previous graph, sodium (Na+) ions and chloride (Cl–) ions are
concentrated in the ECF of the body, whereas potassium (K+) ions are concentrated inside
cells.

• Although sodium and potassium can “leak” through “pores” into and out of cells, respectively,
the high levels of potassium and low levels of sodium in the ICF are maintained by sodium-
potassium pumps in the cell membranes.

• These pumps use the energy supplied by ATP to pump sodium out of the cell and potassium
into the cell.
REFERENCE
• Seoung et al., 2001 assessment of total body water from anthropometry- basedequation using
bioelectrical impedence.

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