Quick Links
For Patients
For Physicians
- Refer a patient to a specialist
- Order labs for patients
- Order radiology for patients
- Order At-Home Services
- Get your practice listed
For Companies
© Copyright 2024 American TelePhysicians. All rights reserved.
You might have heard about the terms acids and bases around you. The word “pH” is the scale used for classifying acids and bases. “ pH” is the potential of hydrogen and is the negative logarithm of hydrogen ions (pH = - log10 [H+]), which means an increase in pH would indicate a decrease in hydrogen ions and vice versa. The substances which have more hydrogen ions that they can donate are called acids, and they are said to have a low Ph, while the substances that can accept hydrogen ions are called bases and are said to have a high pH. The fluids inside your body also have a pH level, according to which they are classified as acids and bases. This pH level needs to remain at the optimum level so that the physiologic processes in your body can occur and your body can function normally. Any change in the amounts of acids and bases can alter this pH level resulting in the disruption of the body’s physiologic processes, which will be evident clinically.
The optimum pH of the body is tightly regulated between 7.35 to 7.45. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide is PCO2= 35-45 mmHg (body's acid), and the concentration of bicarbonate (body’s base) in the body is HCO3- = 22-26 mEq/L.
If this pH level decreases, you are said to have acidosis in your body, and if the pH level increases, you are said to have alkalosis in your body. If the problem is due to PCO2, it is respiratory acidosis or alkalosis. If the problem is due to the HCO3, it is metabolic acidosis or alkalosis. Whether it is acidosis or alkalosis, it will have consequences evident clinically.
Our body is regulated by the homeostatic system, which means that there are mechanisms in the body that try to keep the general conditions of the body at optimum levels so that it works normally. So for acid-base imbalance, there is a buffer system in our body that tries to bring back the pH to normal levels whenever there is a disturbance. The buffer systems of the body are :