Acid-Base Flashcards
What three components are critical to acid-base equilibrium in the body?
- Buffers of body fluids, both intracellular/extracellular
- Respiratory mechanics (C02)
- Renal mechanism-excretion of H+ reabsorption and production of HCO3-
pH
- is used to describe H+ concentration
- lower the pH, the higher the H+ concentration, and vice versa
strong acids
weak acids
-weak acids dissociate only slightly in aqueous solution (most H+ ions bound to base)
3 ECF Buffers
- Bicarbonate HCO3
- Inorganic Phosphate
- Plasma Proteins (albumin) act as buffer by trading Ca++ for H+
What causes carpal pedal spasm?
Less H+ in blood, serum, & ECF due to hyperventilation; as H+ is pulled off proteins, free Ca++ occupies those available sites on protein, decreasing the available free Ca++. Rapidly occurring depressed levels of free CA++ causes carpal pedal spasm.
2 ICF Buffers
- Organic phosphates: ATP, ADP
2. Hemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin
Renal mechanism of acid-base control
- Reabsorption of filtered HCO3
- Synthesis of HCO3 = for each H+ excreted, one new HCO3- is synthesized
- Excretion of H+ as NH4+
- Excretion of fixed acids.
Are people in renal failure acidotic or alkalotic?
Acidotic!! They aren’t making bicarb so they can’t buffer all the acid in the body.
Pulmonary mechansim of acid-base control
Maintains pH by varying the minute ventilation which changes PCO2 levels and therefore pH
Values: pH PO2 PCO2 HCO3
pH = 7.4 PO2 = 100 PCO2 = 40 HCO3 = 21-28
Partial compensation
body brings pH almost to normal levels
Total compensation
body brings pH to normal levels
Anion Gap
- With EXTRA ACIDS in the body; your ANION GAP gets BIGGER
* LOSS OF BICARB you will hold on to chloride and ANION GAP is NORMAL
