Lecture 14

Question 1

What are some of the types of body fluids

Answer 1

intracellular and extracellular fluids

Question 2

What is so important about these fluids?

Answer 2

Body fluids are crucial due to their abundance and role as the immediate environment for cells and molecules in the body. Their composition, such as ion concentrations, provides the context necessary for cellular, organelle, and molecular functions.

Question 3

What is blood plasma?

Answer 3

Physiologists often use blood plasma as a proxy for whole-organism salt and water physiology, as it shares similar osmotic pressure with intracellular and interstitial fluids. However, ion concentrations differ between these compartments due to ion pumps, and solutions with higher ion concentrations, like salt water, have higher osmotic pressure.

Question 4

What are the 3 ways that animals regulate blood plasma?

Answer 4

1. Osmotic Regulation: Keeping the concentration of dissolved substances in blood plasma stable.
2. Ionic Regulation: Keeping the levels of specific ions (like sodium or potassium) in blood plasma constant.
3. Volume Regulation: Controlling the total amount of water in blood plasma.