Anatomy and Physiology(PGY 012)

Unit 1
The Human Body

Homeostasis
 Body fluids and compartments
 Electrolyte and acid base balance

Dr Enos Zivai Mufushwa

HOMEOSTASIS
Def: maintenance of a fairly constant internal environment
BODY FLUIDS
The term body fluids refers to body water and its
dissolved substances
Fluid relation to body weight
In lean adults-55% of bodyweight in female
-60% of bodyweight in males
This proportion is depended on
age,gender,weight
Higher in babies, young people and adults
below av. Wt
Lower in elderly and in obesity in all ages
Fluid compartments
 The body fluids are present in two main compartments
namely:
1. Intracellular fluids(ICF)-inside the cells
2. Extracellular fluids(ECF)-outside the cells
 Intracellular fluid(ICF)
 Fluid within the cells - cytosol
 Makes 2/3 of the total body fluids
 Composition controlled by the cell itself through
selective uptake and hence differs from ECF
 Some substances are in high concentration than
in ECF such as: Potassium, ATP,Protein and
potassium
Extracellular fluid(ECF)
 fluid outside the cells and all other fluids
 Makes 1/3 of total body fluids
 About 80% of the ECF is interstitial(intercellular)
fluid(which occupies the microscopic spaces between
tissue cells
 about 20% of the ECF is plasma, the liquid portion of
the blood
 Other ECF grouped with interstitial fluid include: lymph
and cerebrospinal fluid. present in small amounts, their
main role is lubrication include; joint synovial fluid,
pericardial fluid, peritoneal and pleural fluid
 Interstitial fluid is the medium of exchange of substances
between blood and body cells
Separation of body compartments

Two main barriers separate the intracellular

fluid ,interstitial fluid and blood plasma
1. Plasma membrane: of individual cells
separates the ICF from the interstitial fluid
2. Blood vessel walls: divides the interstitial
fluids from the blood plasma. Only in
capillaries are the walls thin enough and
leaky to permit exchange of water and
solutes between interstitial and plasma
Fluid balance
this is when the required amounts of water and solutes
are present and are correctly proportioned among the
various compartments
Processes of filtration, reabsorption, diffusion, and
osmosis allows the continual exchange of water and
solutes among fluid compartments
Concentration of solutes determine the direction of
water movements
Since most solutes in the body are
electrolytes ,inorganic compounds that dissociate into
ions, fluid balance is closely related to electrolyte
balance.
Kidney important in fluid balance
Fluid gain and loss
 Body gains water by ingestion(water and food) and from
metabolic processes(minimal)
 Water loss occur in four ways;
 GI(feaces),
 lungs during exhalation as water vapour,
 Skin-insensible perspiration and sweat
 Kidney as urine
??menstrual flow in women
 Normally body fluid volume remain constant because
water loss equals water gain
 Water gain and loss by any route vary over time and
activity e.g. water pours as sweat during exercise, water
pour out as diarrhea in GI infection
Electrolytes
An ionic compound dissolved in water is called an
electrolyte because it conducts electricity.
Electrolytes are important body constituents
because;
1) Conduct electricity essential for muscle and
nerve function
2) Exert osmotic pressure which keep body
fluids in their body compartments,
3) Some function in acid base balance,as buffers
to resist pH changes in dody fluids
4) several ions serve as cofactors needed for
optimal activity of enzymes.
Important electrolytes found in body fluids
include:
Sodium(Na+)-most abundant in ECF
Potassium(K+)-most abundant in ICF
Calcium(Ca2+) –most abundant mineral in the
body occuring combined with phosphate and
stored in bones and teeth. Mainly an ECF cation in
free form.
Phosphate anions-mostly ICF act as buffer
Chloride(Cl-)most prevalent anions in ECF
Bicarbonate-second most prevalent anions in ECF
Protein anions-abandunt in ICF
Blood plasma contains more protein anions than
the interstitial fluid since they are unable to leaky
through capillaries hence the colloid osmotic
pressure exerted by plasma.
Sodium cation and chloride anion are the most
abundant electrolytes of the ECF
Potassium cation and protein/phosphate anions are
most abundant electrolytes in ICF
The maintenance of potassium and sodium cations
at different concentrations btween ICF and ECF is
mainly by the sodium –potassium pump(active
transport)
Acid base balance
To ensure homeostasis ICF and ECF must contain
almost balanced quantities of acid and bases
An acid is a substance that releases hydrogen ions
when in solution
A base is a substance that accepts hydrogen ions
when in solution, often with hydroxyl ion.
A salt releases other cation and anions when
dissolved in a solution.
pH scale is a standard measure of the hydrogen ions
concentration in a solution
pH measures from 1 to 14 with 7 the midpoint
being neutral(the pH of pure water)
Buffers
 These are substances that maintain the pH within normal
values by preventing rapid, drastic changes in pH of body
fluids by converting strong acids and bases into weak acids
and weak bases within fraction of a second
 The principle buffer systems of the body fluids are
 Protein anions
 Carbonic acid-bicarbonate
 Phosphate buffer system
Other mechanisms help maintain the pH of systemic
arterial blood between 7.35-7.45:
Buffer system above
Lungs-exhalation of carbondioxide
Kidney excretion of hydrogen ions
Some normal pH values of body fluids
Blood 7.35-7.45
Saliva 5.4-7.5
Gastric juice 1.5-3.5
Urine 4.5-8.0
Acid-base imbalance
Acidosis ;a condition in which blood pH is below 7.35
Alkalosis :a condition in which blood pH is higher
than 7.45
Usually occurs as a result of inability of the buffer to
correct pH fluctuation
Both conditions are damaging to the body especially
CNS and CVS.
Acidotic conditions may be as a result of ;respiratory
problems, excess production of acid-DKA, kidney
disease(reduced hydrogen excretion)
Acidosis is more common in practice than alkalosis
because body tends to produce more acids than alkali
Alkalosis may occur as a result of loss of substances
as in vomiting ,diarrhea, diuretic therapy etc
Respiratory and metabolic causes occur
Corrected by compensation by either the lung or the
kidney.
Negative feedback mechanisms
A negative feedback mechanisms reinstates the
variable back to its original or ideal state.
Homeostasis is maintained by control systems or
sensors which detect and respond to
changes in the internal environment. A control
system has three basic components:
 detector,
 control centre and
 effector.
In many cases, stable conditions are maintained by
negative feedback. In negative feedback, a
sensing mechanism (a detector) detects a change in
conditions beyond specific limits.
A control centre (often in the brain), evaluates the
change, determines the limits within which it
should be maintained and activates a second
mechanism (an effector) to correct the condition.
For example, the cells that either remove or add
glucose to the blood in an effort to maintain
homeostasis are called effectors.
 SECTION A - MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS – 20 MARKS
 Circle the most appropriate answer
 1. The plane of reference that divides the body into anterior and posterior
portions is:
 a) Sagittal
 b) Transverse
 c) Oblique
 d) Coronal
 2. A rounded shaped articular surface of the bone is called:
 a) Facet
 b) Condyle
 c) Fossa
 d) Notch
 3. Golgi apparatus is concerned with:
 a) Energy production
 b) Concentration and packing of secretory products of cells
 c) Synthesis of proteins
 d) Synthesis of secretory products of cell
 4Transitional epithelium is found in the following locations except:
 a) Gall bladder
 b) Ureters
 c) Urinary bladder
 d) Urethra
 5. What percent of total body weight does water make up to:
 a) 40
 b) 60
 c) 80
 d) 70
 6. The microscopic study of tissues is called:
 a) Histology
 b) Cytology
 c) Pathology
 d) Physiology
 7. The most important electrolytes in the body are:
 a) Calcium and chloride
 b) Sodium and potassium
 c) Potassium and chloride
 d) Sodium and chloride
 8.All of the following are connective tissues except:
 a) Cartilage
 b) Membrane
 c) Lipids
 d) Blood
 9. Which of the following organelles contain enzymes involved in breaking
 down fragment of organelles and large molecules:
 a) Golgi apparatus
 b) Microfilament
 c) Vacuole
 d) Lysosomes
 10. Skeletal muscle is:
 a) Involuntary muscle
 b) Non striated
 c) Spindle shaped
 d) Multinucleated
11.Which one of the following is NOT simple epithelial tissue:
a) Squamous
 b) Cuboidal
 c) Columnar
 d) Areolar
 12. The plasma membrane consists of two layers of:
 a) Hydrolipids
 b) Phospholipids
 c) Lipids
 d) None of the above
 13. Gametes reproduce by the process of:
 a) Binary fission
 b) Separation
 c) Mitosis
 d) Meiosis
 14. The following are functions of epithelium except:
 a) Absorption
 b) Secretion
 c) Structural support
 d) Protection
 Answers to the Self-Assessment Questions
 1. D
 2. B
 3. B
 4. A
 5. B
 6. A
 7. B
 8. B
 9. D
 10. D
 11. D
 12. B
 13. D
 14. C
iSeason Yanga…