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Extracellular fluid
 
 
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Extracellular fluid (ECF) usually denotes all body fluid outside of cells. The remainder is called intracellular fluid.

In some animals, including mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, the extracellular fluid can be divided into two major subcompartments, interstitial fluid
Interstitial fluid

Interstitial fluid is a solution which bathes and surrounds the cells of multicellular animals. It is the main component of the extracellular fluid, which also includes Blood plasma and transcellular fluid....
 and blood plasma
Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water , and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, Hormone and carbon dioxide ....
. The extracellular fluid also includes the transcellular fluid
Transcellular fluid

Transcellular fluid is the portion of total body water contained within epithelial lined spaces.. It is the smallest component of extracellular fluid, which also includes interstitial fluid and Blood plasma....
; making up only about 2.5 percent of the ECF.

In humans, the normal glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 concentration of extracellular fluid that is regulated by homeostasis
Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system, either open system or closed system, that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition....
 is approximately 5 mM.

The pH
PH

pH is a measure of the Acid or Base of a solution. It is defined as the cologarithm of the Activity of dissolved hydrogen ions . Hydrogen ion activity coefficients cannot be measured experimentally, so they are based on theoretical calculations....
 of extracellular fluid is tightly regulated by buffers
Buffer solution

A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of acid or base is added to it....
 around 7.4.

The volume of ECF is typically 15L (of which 12L is interstitial fluid and 3L as plasma)








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Extracellular fluid (ECF) usually denotes all body fluid outside of cells. The remainder is called intracellular fluid.

In some animals, including mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, the extracellular fluid can be divided into two major subcompartments, interstitial fluid
Interstitial fluid

Interstitial fluid is a solution which bathes and surrounds the cells of multicellular animals. It is the main component of the extracellular fluid, which also includes Blood plasma and transcellular fluid....
 and blood plasma
Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water , and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, Hormone and carbon dioxide ....
. The extracellular fluid also includes the transcellular fluid
Transcellular fluid

Transcellular fluid is the portion of total body water contained within epithelial lined spaces.. It is the smallest component of extracellular fluid, which also includes interstitial fluid and Blood plasma....
; making up only about 2.5 percent of the ECF.

In humans, the normal glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 concentration of extracellular fluid that is regulated by homeostasis
Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system, either open system or closed system, that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition....
 is approximately 5 mM.

The pH
PH

pH is a measure of the Acid or Base of a solution. It is defined as the cologarithm of the Activity of dissolved hydrogen ions . Hydrogen ion activity coefficients cannot be measured experimentally, so they are based on theoretical calculations....
 of extracellular fluid is tightly regulated by buffers
Buffer solution

A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of acid or base is added to it....
 around 7.4.

The volume of ECF is typically 15L (of which 12L is interstitial fluid and 3L as plasma)

Contents of ECF


Main Cations: Sodium
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
  (Na+ 140 mM) Potassium
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
 (K+ 4 mM) Calcium
Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
 (Ca2+ 2 mM)

Main Anions: Chloride
Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the chemical element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−....
 (Cl- 110 mM) Hydrogen Carbonate
Bicarbonate

In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid. Its chemical formula is HCO3−....
 (HCO3- 26 mM)

It is poorer in proteins compared to intracellular fluid

See also

  • Effective circulating volume
    Effective circulating volume

    Effective Circulating Volume is the volume of arterial blood effectively perfusing tissue. ECV is dynamic and not a measurable, distinct compartment....
     (ECV)


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