Where is extracellular fluid located

Otherwise, the venous blood pools in the lower limbs and can leak into surrounding tissues. Medications that can result in edema include vasodilators, calcium channel blockers used to treat hypertension, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, estrogen therapies, and some diabetes medications.

Underlying medical conditions that can contribute to edema include congestive heart failure, kidney damage and kidney disease, disorders that affect the veins of the legs, and cirrhosis and other liver disorders. Therapy for edema usually focuses on elimination of the cause. Activities that can reduce the effects of the condition include appropriate exercises to keep the blood and lymph flowing through the affected areas.

Other therapies include elevation of the affected part to assist drainage, massage and compression of the areas to move the fluid out of the tissues, and decreased salt intake to decrease sodium and water retention.

Your body is mostly water. Body fluids are aqueous solutions with differing concentrations of materials, called solutes. An appropriate balance of water and solute concentrations must be maintained to ensure cellular functions.

If the cytosol becomes too concentrated due to water loss, cell functions deteriorate. If the cytosol becomes too dilute due to water intake by cells, cell membranes can be damaged, and the cell can burst. Hydrostatic pressure is the force exerted by a fluid against a wall and causes movement of fluid between compartments.

Fluid can also move between compartments along an osmotic gradient. Active transport processes require ATP to move some solutes against their concentration gradients between compartments. Passive transport of a molecule or ion depends on its ability to pass easily through the membrane, as well as the existence of a high to low concentration gradient. Answer the question s below to see how well you understand the topics covered in the previous section.

Skip to main content. Search for:. Body Fluids and Fluid Compartments Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Explain the importance of water in the body Contrast the composition of the intracellular fluid with that of the extracellular fluid Explain the importance of protein channels in the movement of solutes Identify the causes and symptoms of edema.

Practice Question Watch this video to learn more about body fluids, fluid compartments, and electrolytes. Show Answer The interstitial fluid IF. Show Answer Fluid enters the capillaries from interstitial spaces. Disorders of the Fluid Balance: Edema Edema is the accumulation of excess water in the tissues. Critical Thinking Questions Plasma contains more sodium than chloride. How can this be if individual ions of sodium and chloride exactly balance each other out, and plasma is electrically neutral?

How is fluid moved from compartment to compartment? Show Answers There are additional negatively charged molecules in plasma besides chloride. The additional sodium balances the total negative charges. Fluid is moved by a combination of osmotic and hydrostatic pressures.

The osmotic pressure results from differences in solute concentrations across cell membranes. Hydrostatic pressure results from the pressure of blood as it enters a capillary system, forcing some fluid out of the vessel into the surrounding tissues. Licenses and Attributions. For instance, in humans, the normal glucose concentration of extracellular fluid that is regulated by homeostasis is approximately 5 mM.

The pH of extracellular fluid is tightly regulated by buffers around 7. The volume of extracellular fluid is typically 15 L i. The kidneys are responsible for the regulation of water and inorganic ions. Read this tutorial to learn about the different parts of the kidneys and its role in homeostasis Read More.

The circulatory system is key to the transport of vital biomolecules and nutrients throughout the body. Learn about the different components and functions of the human circulatory system dealt with in detail in this tutorial. The lymphatic system is also elucidated elaborately here Although water forms the large majority of the cytosol, it mainly functions as a fluid medium for intracellular signaling signal transduction within the cell, and plays a role in determining cell size and shape.

The concentrations of ions, such as sodium and potassium, are generally lower in the cytosol compared to the extracellular fluid; these differences in ion levels are important in processes such as osmoregulation and signal transduction.

The cytosol also contains large amounts of macromolecules that can alter how molecules behave, through macromolecular crowding. The extracellular fluid can be divided into two major subcompartments: interstitial fluid and blood plasma. The extracellular fluid also includes the transcellular fluid; this makes up only about 2. In humans, the normal glucose concentration of extracellular fluid that is regulated by homeostasis is approximately 5 mm.

The pH of extracellular fluid is tightly regulated by buffers and maintained around 7. Extracellular matrix : Spatial relationship between the blood vessels, basement membranes, and interstitial space between structures. It is the intravascular fluid part of the extracellular fluid.

It plays a vital role in intravascular osmotic effects that keep electrolyte levels balanced and protects the body from infection and other blood disorders. Sometimes the removal of tissue fluid does not function correctly and there is a buildup, which is called edema. Edema is responsible for the swelling that occurs during inflammation, and in certain diseases where the lymphatic drainage pathways are obstructed.

The Starling model : Note the concentration of interstitial solutes orange increases proportionally to the distance from the arteriole. Capillary permeability can be increased by the release of certain cytokines, anaphylatoxins, or other mediators such as leukotrienes, prostaglandins, histamine, bradykinin, etc.

The Starling equation defines the forces across a semipermeable membrane to calculate the net flux. The solution to the equation is known as the net filtration or net fluid movement. If positive, fluid will tend to leave the capillary filtration. If negative, fluid will tend to enter the capillary absorption. This equation has a number of important physiologic implications, especially when disease processes grossly alter one or more of the variables.

Capillary dynamics : Oncotic pressure exerted by the proteins in blood plasma tends to pull water into the circulatory system. This is a diagram of the Starling model. Note how the concentration of interstitial solutes increases proportionally to the distance from the arteriole. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Body Fluids and Acid-Base Balance.

Search for:. Body Fluids. Water Content in the Body A significant percentage of the human body is water, which includes intracellular and extracellular fluids. Learning Objectives Describe the characteristics of water content in the body. Obesity decreases the percentage of water in the body. Body water is regulated by hormones, including anti-diuretic hormone ADH , aldosterone, and atrial natriuretic peptide. Water content in the body can be evaluated using bioelectrical impedance and mass spectrometry.

Important functions of water in the body include supporting the cellular metabolism, molecular transport, biochemical reactions, and the physical properties of water, such as surface tension.

Key Terms hydrolysis : A biochemical reaction in which water molecules are used to break down a molecule into smaller molecules. Fluid Compartments The major body-fluid compartments includ: intracellular fluid and extracellular fluid plasma, interstitial fluid, and transcellular fluid. Learning Objectives Distinguish between intracellular and extracellular fluids. Key Takeaways Key Points The intracellular fluid of the cytosol or intracellular fluid or cytoplasmic matrix is the liquid found inside cells.

The cytosol is a complex mixture of substances that include proteins, ions, and organelles dissolved in water. Extracellular fluid ECF or extracellular fluid volume ECFV usually denotes all body fluid outside of cells, and consists of plasma, interstitial, and transcellular fluid. An extracellular matrix is an extracellular fluid space containing cell-excreted molecules, and they vary in their type and function.

Plasma also serves as an extracellular matrices ECM for the cells and molecules of the blood. Transcellular fluid is the portion of total body water contained within epithelial -lined spaces. Key Terms intracellular fluid : The liquid found inside cells, between the endomembrane and the membrane-bound organelles. Body Fluid Composition The composition of tissue fluid depends upon the exchanges between the cells in the biological tissue and the blood.