Physiology - Body Fluid Compartments Flashcards
what is osmolarity?
the concentration of osmotically active particles in a solution
mosmol/l
how do you calculate osmolarity?
molar concentration of a solution x the number of osmotically active particles in the solution
what are the units of osmolality?
osmol/kg of water
what is the osmolarity of body fluids?
around 300 mosmol/l
what is tonicity?
the effect a solution has on cell volume
what are the three tonicities a solution can have?
hypotonic
hypertonic
isotonic
what does hypotonic mean?
causes the cell to swell
what does hypertonic mean?
causes the cell to shrink
what does isotonic mean?
has no effect on cell volume
what two compartments make up TBW?
ICF (66%)
ECF (33%)
what is ECF made of?
plasma
interstitial fluid
lymph
transcellular fluid
how can body fluid compartments volumes be measured?
using tracers
obtain their volume of distribution
what tracer is used to measure TBW volume?
3H2O
what tracer is used to measure ECF volume?
inulin
what tracer is used to measure plasma volume?
labelled albumin
what is the equation for measuring the volume of distribution of a tracer?
V = dose of tracer (D)/sample concentration (C)
what does water imbalance cause?
fluid shifts between the ICF and ECF by osmosis
what are the main ions in the ICF?
potassium
what are the main ions in the ECF?
sodium
chloride
bicarbonate
what separates interstitial fluid from the intracellular fluid?
plasma membranes
what separates plasma from the interstitial fluid?
the wall of the vasculature
what is the major determinant of plasma osmolarity?
sodium
how can you estimate plasma osmolarity?
double the plasma sodium ion concentration
what are the osmolarities of the ECF and ICF?
botha round 300 mosmol/l
what is a fluid shift?
the movement of water between the ICF and the ECF in response to an osmotic gradient
what happens when there is a gain/loss of water?
ICF and ECF volumes change
what happens to the ECF and ICF volumes if the ECF gains NaCl?
ECF increases
ICF decreases
what happens to the ECF and ICF volumes if the ECF loses NaCl?
ECF decreases
ICF increases
what happens if an isotonic fluid is gained or lost?
change occurs in the ECF fluid volume only
what organ controls the composition and volume of the ECF?
the kidneys
what is an electrolyte?
any substance that dissociates into free ions when dissolved
e.g. NaCl
how is most sodium input achieved?
through the diet
how is most sodium output achieved?
urine