Question

Shauna is a healthy, fit 28-year-old who decided to go on a 2-week tour of Mexico for young singles. One hot afternoon in a small market community, she grabbed some fruit juice from a street vendor. Several hours later, she developed abdominal cramping and diarrhea. The diarrhea became so severe that she missed 3 days of the tour and stayed in her hotel room. By the end of her illness, she felt weak and tired. Her head ached, but the mild fever had disappeared, and she was able to join her new friends for the rest of the tour.

What is the acid–base imbalance Shauna might have experienced and its etiology?

What are the functions and importance of the bicarbonate buffer system in the body?

Answer 1

Acid- base imbalance:

Diarrhoea can cause fluid volume,acid- base and electrolyte abnormalities..There will be acid base imbalance like hypovolemia, metabolic acidosis, serum anion gap with metabolic acidosis..

Etiology: The normal stool has alkaline PH..sodium, potassium salts are the stool solutes..it ranges between 130 and 150 mEq/l and calcium and magnesium will be in less concentration..The most inorganic stool anions are bicarbonate (30mEq/l), chloride (10- 20mEq/l) and small amount of phosphate and sulfate..

2, Functions of bicarbonate ion in the blood transport waste carbon-dioxide from the body tissues to the lungs..CO2 buildup in the body tissue and make it poison..so the enzyme carbonic anhydrase which body was catalyze the reaction of CO2 and water into carbonic acid ( soluble)..This can easily dissolve in the blood and dissociates into H+ and bicarbonate..when blood flow through metabolic active tissues, high concentration of CO2 increase the reaction and produce bicarbonate..when this blood reaches the lungs,there is low concentration of CO2, reaction reverse and bicarbonate and H+ are converted back into CO2 and water..The CO2 comes out of solutions and it will exhaled out..

Bicarbonate is an excellent buffer and keeps the PH of the blood in normal range of 7.35- 7.45