Acid Base Balance

Normal Range for pH

7.35 -7.45

Normal range for venous pH

7.30 - 7.40

What is a high pH called?

Alkalosis or alkalemia

What is a low pH called?

Acidosis or acidemia

What is the first line of defense in acid-base regulation

Chemical Buffer System

How many minutes does it take for the respiratory system to offset an acidosis or an alkalosis

1 - 3 minutes

What is the bodies most effective acid base monitoring and regulator

Renal System

Which of the following is defined as a proton donor?

Acid

What acid dissociates completely in water and liberates all H+

Strong Acid

What does pH stand for?

Negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration, or potential of hydrogen

What does bicarb stand for?

An alkaline chemical compound and electrolyte

Under normal conditions, what’s the ratio between a bicarb and carbonic acid in arterial blood

20:1

Compared to a carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffering system in an extracellular fluid, how effective is the phosphate buffering system?

About one-sixth effective

What is the term for a situation that exists when a volume of CO2 is eliminated from the lungs in less than the CO2 produced at the tissue cells

Hypoventilation

The respiratory system has up to what amount of buffering power of all chemical buffering systems combined

Twice the buffering power

What causes carbon dioxide retention

Hypoventilation

What systems can eliminate fixed acids?

Phosphate, protein, and renal systems

What cannot eliminate fixed acids?

Respiratory System

What systems can regulate alkaline substances and restore chemical buffers

Respiratory and renal

How powerful can carbonic acid change blood pH to bicarbonate ion

20 times

What is characterized by PaCO2 above normal, pH below normal, and HCO3- within normal limits

Acute ventilatory failure

What may occur with COPD, histoplasmosis, kyphoscoliosis, and chronic tuberculosis?

Chronic ventilatory failure

Causes of acute ventilatory failure include

Guillain-Barré Syndrome, general anesthesia, head trauma, and myasthenia gravis

What produces respiratory alkalosis

Acute alveolar hyperventilation

What is the respiratory alkalosis pattern?

PaCO2 below normal, pH above normal, HCO3- within normal range

What are the causes for a respiratory alkalosis

Brain inflammation, stimulant drugs, pain, anxiety, and fear

What is the most common cause of acute respiratory alkalosis

Hypoxemia

What does the body do to alveolar hyperventilation when it goes through metabolic acidosis?

It corrects

Acute metabolic acidosis has ________

pH and HCO3- below normal

Causes of metabolic acidosis include

Diabetic ketoacidosis, salicylate, intoxication, severe diarrhea, and renal failure

What also indicates metabolic acidosis

Kussmaul breathing with a fruity odor

A low pH, high PaCO2, and normal HCO3- indicate a what

Acute respiratory acidosis

A high pH, low PaCO2, High BCO3- indicates a what

Metabolic Alkalosis