Body Fluid Compartments and

Measurements of Fluid Volumes

Hari Shrestha
Lecturer, Department of Physiology
KISTMCTH
14 September 2022
 Learning Objective:
 Body fluid compartments
 Extracellular fluid compartment
 Intracellular fluid compartment

 Organization of electrolytes into compartments

 Measurement of body fluid volumes

 1. Body Fluids & its Composition
 Cell functions depend on fluids present outside & inside the cell.
 Body fluid refers to body water & its dissolved substances.

• Body fluids contain water &

solids.

• Water forms most of fluid.

• Solids are organic &

inorganic substances.
 2. Body fluid compartments
In complex organisms, body fluid is compartmentalized into
intracellular and extracellular fluid compartments.

• Extracellular fluid (20%)

• Plasma
• Interstitial fluid
• Transcelluar fluid
-digestive secretions, sweat,
cerebrospinal fluid,
pleural, peritoneal,
synovial fluid.

• Intracellular fluid (40%)

In average young adult male having body weight 70 Kg Total
Body Water (TBW) is about 60% of body weight i.e., 42 l.
 3. WATER BALANCE IN THE
BODY

In a healthy individual,
there is balance between
daily water input & output.

Kidney possess tremendous

capacity to regulate the
body water balance.
4. Organization of electrolytes into compartments
Approximate concentration of electrolytes in body fluids
Plasma Interstitial Fluid Intracellular Fluid
(meq./Kg H2O) (meq./Kg H2O) (meq./Kg H2O)

Cations
Na+ 153 145 10
K+ 4.3 4.1 159
Ca++ 5.4 3 1
Mg++ 2.2 2 40
Total 165 154 210
Anions
Cl- 111 117 3
HCO3- 30 31 7
Protein 18 _ 45
Others 6 6 155
Total 165 154 210
 Points to Remember
 Osmolality of ECF & ICF are equal at steady state. This
osmotic equilibrium is maintained by free water shifts.

 Though osmolality between ECF & ICF is similar, there is

marked difference in concentration of electrolytes (cations &
anions).
 Normal plasma osmolality ranges from approximately 280–295
mOsm/kg H2O.

 Sodium and its associated anions make the largest contribution

(~90%) to plasma osmolality.

Total number of osmotically active particles in a solution is

measured in osmole
Changes in volume and osmolarity of
body fluids
 Measurement of fluid volumes in
different compartments

 Usually estimated in vivo by Indicator Dilution

Principle

 It is based on the principle of conservation of mass

(total mass of a substance after dispersion will be
same as the total mass injected into the compartment)
 Indicator must fulfill conditions like

 Uniformly distributed & confined to the compartment

being measured.
 Must be nontoxic.
 Not metabolized or excreted rapidly.
 Should not alter the volume of the body fluid.
 Should be relatively easy to measure.
 Measurement of TBW

 It is measured by the dilution of isotopically

labeled water
 Deuterium oxide (D2O; 2H2O or heavy water)
 Tritium oxide (T2O; 3H2O or super-heavy water)

 Aminopyrine (also used as antipyretic and

analgesic drug)
 Measurement of ECF

 The indicator used are generally 2 groups

 Nonmetabolizable Saccharides (Inulin, Sucrose)
 Radioactive ions (Chloride, Sodium, Sulfate)

 They usually disperse almost completely throughout

ECF within 30 to 60 mins.
 Meaurement of Plasma Volume

 Usually measured using either of two dilution

methods:
 Serum albumin labeled with radioactive iodine
 Evans blue dye (T 1824)

 From the plasma volume measured & determination

of hematocrit, total blood volume can be obtained

 Total blood volume = Plasma volume

1-Hematocrit
 Measurement of Interstitial Volume
& Intracellular Fluid Volume
 Both cannot be measured directly.

 Calculated as:

Interstitial volume= ECF volume - Plasma volume

Intracellular fluid volume= TBW - ECF volume

Thank you