Body Fluid Compartments, Transport, and Edema

All flashcards

What is an electrolyte?

An electrolyte is an ion, or electrically charged particle, often formed when a mineral dissociates from a salt. Sodium and chloride ions are examples.

What is intracellular fluid?

Intracellular fluid (ICF) is the fluid inside cells, enclosed by their plasma membranes. It is the main fluid component of the cytosol and cytoplasm.

What makes up the main parts of extracellular fluid?

The main components are plasma, the fluid portion of blood within vessels, and interstitial fluid, which surrounds cells outside blood vessels.

Approximately how much body water is in the ICF?

About 60 percent of the body's total water is intracellular. In an average-size adult male, this is approximately 25 liters.

Name three specialized extracellular fluids.

Examples include cerebrospinal fluid, lymph, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, and aqueous humor.

Quiz questions

1. Which ions are relatively concentrated in intracellular fluid?Answer: Potassium and phosphate
2. What does the sodium-potassium pump do using energy from ATP?Answer: It moves sodium out of cells and potassium into cells.
3. During osmosis, which way does water move across a semipermeable membrane?Answer: Toward the side with the higher solute concentration.
4. At the arteriolar end of a capillary, what happens when capillary hydrostatic pressure exceeds blood colloid osmotic pressure?Answer: Fluid tends to move out of the capillary into surrounding tissues.
5. Why is pulmonary edema especially dangerous?Answer: It can impair gas exchange and make breathing difficult.