Body Fluid Compartments:

Understanding the Concept of Hom eostasis

Aviad Haramati, PhD

Professor of Physiology & Biophysics and Medicine

Georgetown University School of Medicine

Why Do We Sweat When We Exercise?

Exercising muscle generates heat

Sweating is one way the body maintains its
core temperature
Heat is dissipated from the body, as the
fluid evaporates off the skin
W here does the fluid in sw eat com e from ?
and, w hat is in it?

Impact of Fluid Loss as Sweat

Fluid Loss

Physiological Effect

(% Body Wt)

2% (1.5 L)

Impaired Performance

4% (3.0 L)

Decreased Capacity for Muscular Work

5% (3.5 L)

Heat Exhaustion

7% (5.0 L)

Hallucinations

10% (7.0 L)

Circulatory Collapse/Heat Stroke

Unicellular Organism

Multicellular Organism

Milieu
Interieur

Nutrients In

Waste Products Out

Physiological Systems

Circulatory System

Respiratory System
Gastrointestinal System
Renal/Urinary System
Musculoskeletal System
Nervous System

Heart and Vasculature

Central and Peripheral

Endocrine System
Immune System

Homeostasis
The process by which the body
maintains constancy in internal
function in the face of changes
in the external environment

Major Body Fluid Compartments

What are the

main
constituents
of each
compartment?

Composition of Body Fluid Compartments

Measurement of Body Fluid

Compartments
IndicatorDilution
Technique

Interstitial Fluid Compartment

Cell Membrane: Lipid Bilayer

Capillary Wall

Composition of Body Fluid

Compartments

Solute Distribution

Na+

140 mEq/L
Metabolic
Pump

K+
4 mEq/L

Na+

10 mEq/L

K+

150 mEq/L

Composition of Body Fluid

Compartments