Class notes Med506 Essentials of Medical Physiology "Inside Out: A Streamlined Guide to Body & Fluid Compartments"

BODY FLUID COMPARTMEN
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY

,Objectives


 By the end of the module, the student should be able to :-
 Discuss the organization of body fluid compartments
 Describe the percentage of total body water.
 Discuss the components of the extracellular compartment(ma
cations and major anions)
 Discuss the components of the intracellular compartment(maj
cations and major anions)

,BODY FLUID COMPARTMENTS

, ORGANIZATION/COMPOSITION OF BODY FLUID
COMPARTMENTS

 DISTRIBUTION OF WATER IN THE BODY FLUID COMPARTMENTS
 In the human body, water constitutes a high proportion of body weight.
 The total amount of fluid or water is called total body water, which
accounts for 50% to 70% of body weight.
 For example, a 70-kilogram (kg) man whose total body water is 65% of
his body weight has 45.5 kg or 45.5 liters (L) of water (1 kg water ≈ 1
L water).
 Total body water correlates inversely with body fat.
 Thus, total body water is a higher percentage of body weight when
body fat is low and a lower percentage when body fat is high.
 Because females have a higher percentage of adipose tissue than
males, they tend to have less body water.