CHAPTER
2 Fluids
and
Electrol
tes
Electrolytes
Simply
"atOO
. •
1n:I~''''
ate ohemical
i",
. that are imJ'O'la'" in maintammg
OIpIli<
fuoctioo. n.e NOCefllr.ttioo
of
electrolyte>
i,
"",,,,,,red in milli",!ui
..
l"n"
per liter
of
fluid (i .•.. mEqlL). Elec1rol
yte>
carry
an
electrical
_l
ike chaQle.
c.lled
on
ionic cllarg<. that may
he
ei!hef
"",i
tive
0<
negative.
In
general,
"",itive
ly
and
negatively ch"'lloo
ion,
may
ot
tnrt
each
<>!her.
bond. and form ••.
it>.
Fo.-
i
n"""",.
when sodium (i.e..
N.
,)
meets
chlorid< (i
.e
..
CI),
they form
.ooium
chloride (i.e
..
NaCl), oth"",,'i,,, known a. /Db!. ",II.
On
the other h>nd. two
"",iti,
..
ly chaQled
ion.
th
at
meet wi
ll
"I"'I
each
othe!,
'"
,,'i
ll
t,,·o negati
..
ly charged
iOll>.
CATIONS
Electrolyte. in body fluid. that ore
"",i
tively
ch
a'lloo ate o.lIed
c.t
i
on
•. n.e most
rommon oation, ioclud<
.ooium
(i
....
Na'),
pota
..
ium (i.e
..
K
')
. calcium (i.e
..
Cr'),
aDd
magne<ium (i.e
..
Mg"
).
A.
noted previooily,
.ooium
i.
the major
e"~lIu
l
..
eleruol)'tc.
whe",,,,
pota>,i
um
i.
the major
intnrellular
electrolyte.
ANIONS
lIody fluid elec1rol
yte>
that are negati,..,ly charged are called 8
Ri
O'"
n.e most
rommon onion, ioclude chlorid<
(i .•.. a ). bicarbonate (i .•..
HCO
, ).
aDd
pho>p/la
te
(i
....
1'0
,
>-
). Chloride
>nd
bicarbonate are the major
..
~lIu
l
ar
>IIi"",.
aDd
pho>phate
i.
the main
intnrellular
anion.
Mechanisms
that
Maintain
Fluid and Electrolyte Balance
A
hoot
of
mechani.ms
helps to maintain fluid and eleetrol)1e b.,
!:i
n""
in the
body
aDd
include
I'=i",
lramJ'O'l
meehani''''',
adi
..
tra"'P""
meehani, .....
.oo
p/ly.iologic homeootatic mechani.ms. and
the",
...
di"",
..
oo
in the following
""",on
•.
PASSIVE
TRANSPORT
"",.i,..,
tr.ln'J'O'I
mechani.ms
do
not require the body to exl"'oo any ene'EY in the
form
of
a<lenosi". tripho>phate
(ATr)
fC4"
the mechanism to occur.