The human body contains intracellular and extracellular fluids, both of which contain electrolytes essential for the nervous system and muscles. Imbalances can lead to serious illness or death. The kidneys and lungs help regulate fluid and electrolyte levels, and osmosis maintains balance. The body needs to maintain a healthy concentration of fluids and electrolytes between the ICF and ECF. Water moves across cell membranes through osmosis, and the hypothalamus triggers thirst to replace lost fluids. Maintaining proper fluid and electrolyte levels is crucial for organ function.
The human body contains fluid both within its cells, called intracellular fluid (ICF), and outside its cells, called extracellular fluid (ECF). The two types of ECF are blood plasma and interstitial fluid, which is found in the microscopic spaces between cells. All bodily fluids contain electrolytes, which are atoms that have a positive or negative charge and are essential for the function of the nervous system and muscles, including the heart, and for maintaining blood pressure and the body’s acid-base balance. or potential hydrogen (pH). The lungs, kidneys, and hypothalamus play important roles in regulating fluid and electrolyte levels in the body, as does osmosis. An imbalance between body fluid and electrolytes can lead to serious illness or death.
There are five major electrolytes in the human body. They are sodium (Na+), which helps nerve cells send signals to each other and helps maintain electrolyte balance; potassium (K+), which helps nerve and muscle function and helps maintain the pH of body fluids; calcium (CA2+), which plays a role in blood clotting and nerve and muscle function; chloride (Cl-), which acts as a balance against the positive ions; and bicarbonate (HCO3-), which helps maintain the correct pH in body fluids. Sodium, potassium, and calcium are cations, or positively charged ions, and chloride and bicarbonate are anions, or negatively charged ions. Ions have a positive or negative charge, so they can affect the pH of body fluids. The body can tolerate only minor changes in the pH of its fluids and still function properly, so balanced electrolyte levels are required for survival.
Severe dehydration causes the kidneys to stop excreting fluids in an effort to prevent further fluid loss. This causes an imbalance of electrolytes which leads to metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the pH of body fluids is too low. Acidosis causes rapid breathing, lethargy and confusion and can lead to shock and death. An extreme loss of Cl- due to prolonged vomiting leads to metabolic alkalosis, in which the pH of the body fluids is too high. Signs and symptoms of alkalosis include confusion, muscle twitching or spasms, feeling lightheaded, nausea and tingling in the hands or face, and coma.
The kidneys help maintain electrolyte balance by controlling the amount of fluid and electrolytes released in the urine, and the lungs remove carbon dioxide from the blood, which makes the blood less acidic. This is why someone who has acid breathes rapidly to correct the condition and why hyperventilation can lead to respiratory alkalosis. Overuse of sedative drugs can slow the breathing process enough to cause respiratory acidosis.
In addition to maintaining fluid levels and pH, the body also needs to maintain a healthy concentration of fluids and electrolytes between the ICF and ECF. Water moves across cell membranes through a passive process called osmosis, which works to maintain equal concentrations of fluid and electrolytes, especially Na+, inside and outside the cell membrane. If there is a higher concentration of Na+ outside the cell, water will move from the ICF to the ECF to balance the concentration. Too much of this water movement causes cells to dehydrate, blood pressure to rise, and the hypothalamus of the brain to trigger a feeling of thirst. This is called osmotic thirst, which is why a person feels thirsty after eating salty foods.
When the same person drinks water, the concentration of Na+ in the blood decreases and the water flows back into the cells, restoring the balance of fluids and electrolytes. When a person loses body fluids through sweating, urination, vomiting, diarrhea, or bleeding, another type of cell within the hypothalamus triggers the thirst to replace the volume of fluid. This is called hypovolemic thirst.
The passive process of osmosis and the functions of the lungs and kidneys work together to maintain proper fluid and electrolyte levels within the body. This ensures that each electrolyte can do its job of keeping the heart beating and the nervous system functioning. Too much or too little of an electrolyte can cause serious problems. For example, too little K+ leads to acidosis and too much K+ can stop the heart, which is the cause of death for many kidney disease patients. The lungs and kidneys also help maintain a balance of cations and anions to maintain the correct pH within the body fluids so that the organs can function.
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