11.8 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?
- Describe the effect of ADH on renal collecting tubules.
- Why is it important for the amount of water intake to equal the amount of water output?
- Explain how the CO2 generated by cells and exhaled in the lungs is carried as bicarbonate in the blood.
- How can one have an imbalance in a substance, but not have elevated or deficient levels of that substance in the body?
- Describe the conservation of bicarbonate ions in the renal system.
- Describe the control of blood carbonic acid levels through the respiratory system.
- Case Study: Brooks is a 64-year-old admitted to the emergency room for asthma. Their laboratory results are as follows: pH 7.31, pCO2 higher than normal, and total HCO3– also higher than normal. Classify their acid-base balance as acidosis or alkalosis and as metabolic or respiratory. Is there evidence of compensation? Propose the mechanism by which asthma contributed to the lab results seen.
- Case Study: Kim is a 38-year-old woman admitted to the hospital for bulimia. Her laboratory results are as follows: pH 7.48, pCO2 in the normal range, and total HCO3– higher than normal. Classify her acid-base balance as acidosis or alkalosis and as metabolic or respiratory. Is there evidence of compensation? Propose the mechanism by which bulimia contributed to the lab results seen.