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BIOCHEMISTRY
BCHM102b
ASSIGNMENTI-Part1
OnAcid-basebalanceinsidethehumanbodyextracellular
fluid
MuhammedSayedHassan
ID:171741
GROUP(B)
Submittedto:Dr.AshrafBakkar
Whatkeepsthenormalacid-basebalanceinsidethehumanbody
extracellularfluid?
Introduction:
ThepHrangeoftheextracellularfluidinanormalpersonisfrom7.35to7.45,so
it'sslightlybasicandusuallythebodymaintainspHofbloodcloseto7.4.The
acid-basebalancecanbemeasuredbythelevelsofcarbon-dioxide(acid)and
bicarbonate(base).AnydisturbanceofthispHrangecancausedeath.
Acid-baseimbalance:AcidosisandAlkalosis
Acid-basebalanceinsidethehumanbodycanbeaffectedthroughsomemore
thanonefactor,eitherthroughintakeofacidicorbasiccompoundsorthe
decreasedeliminationofthem.Thiscanleadtotwodifferenttypesof
abnormalitiesofacid-basebalance:
1)Acidosis:Iftheextracellularfluidhasanincreasedacidquantitythannormal.
(pHlessthan7.3)andleadstoacidemia.
2)Alkalosis:Iftheextracellularfluidhasanincreasedbasequantitythannormal.
(pHmorethan7.5)andleadstoalkalemia.
Figure(1):pHscaleshowingthenormalpHlevelofthehumanbloodalongwiththesurvivalrangefrom7.0to
7.8
Classificationofacid-basedisorders:
Acidosisandalkalosiscanbeanimportantcluethatthere'samedicalcause
behindthem,Therearetwotypesofacidosisandalkalosis:
1) Metabolic:It'scausedbymetabolicerrorslikeanimbalanceinthe
productionofacidsandbasesortheirexcretion.
2) Respiratory:It'scausedbychangesincarbondioxideconcentrationin
extracellularfluidduetooverexhalationasinHyperventilationor
breathingdisorders.
There'sthreedifferentmechanismsincontrollingacid-basebalance:
I)Buffersystems.(likeCH3COOH/CH3COO-NaandNH3/NH4Cl)
II)Kidneys.(excretionofextraacidsorbases)[takesseveraldays]
III)Lungs.(maintainsanormalpacetonormalizecarbondioxidelevelsinblood)
Figure(2):Adiagramshowingthetypesofalkalosisandacidosisandhowthebodyorganscompensatesit.
Discussion:
Asthebodyisexposedtomanydifferenttypesacid-basedisturbances,it
stimulatestheautomaticcompensatorymechanismsforgettingbackthepHof
theextracellulartonormal.Ifthebodycouldn'tcompensatebackthepHchange
thiscouldleadtoacidemiaoralkalemiawhichistheconditionoflowbloodpH
andHighbloodpHrespectively.Thenamedicaltreatmentisurgentlyrequiredto
treattheunderlyingcauseofthisacid-basedisturbance.
Table(1):Primarydisturbancesandit'seffectonthebody,andhowthebodycompensatesit.
References: