This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Alkalosis is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Alkalosis Classification and external resources |
|
| ICD-10 | E87.3 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 276.3 |
| MeSH | D000471 |
Alkalosis refers to a condition reducing hydrogen ion concentration of arterial blood plasma (alkalemia). Generally alkalosis is said to occur when pH of the blood exceeds 7.45. The opposite condition is acidosis.
Contents |
Types
More specifically, alkalosis can refer to:
Causes
The main cause of respiratory alkalosis is hyperventilation, resulting in a loss of carbon dioxide. Compensatory mechanisms for this would include increased dissociation of the carbonic acid buffering intermediate into hydrogen ions, and the related consumption of bicarbonate, both of which would lower blood pH.
Metabolic alkalosis can be caused by prolonged vomiting, resulting in a loss of hydrochloric acid with the stomach content. Severe dehydration, and the consumption of alkali are other causes. Compensatory mechanism for metabolic alkalosis involve slowed breathing by the lungs to increase serum carbon dioxide, a condition leaning toward respiratory acidosis. As respiratory acidosis often accompanies the compensation for metabolic alkalosis, and visa versa, a delicate balance is created between these two conditions.
See also
- Acidosis
- Acid-base physiology
- Acid-base homeostasis
- milk-alkali syndrome
- Mixed disorder of acid-base balance
References
- International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. "alkalosis". Compendium of Chemical Terminology Internet edition.
 |
This medical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 1 July 2008, at 01:55.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Alkalosis".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.