“Normal values”

The USMLE provides a listing of the range of normal values for medical students to use during the
licensing examination (click here). In addition to the range, it is also useful for our students to have
“typical” values to help them organize their study. For Physiology, these typical values include
Body Fluid Distribution (assuming a 70 Kg man as “typical”)
Total Body Water 60% of body weight 42 L
Intracellular water 40% 28 L
Extracellular water 20% 14 L
Blood 6-8% 5 L
Plasma 4-5% 3 L
Interstitial water 16% 11 L
Water balance
Intake 2.2 L/day ingestion + 0.3 L/day Metabolic Production
Loss 1.5 L/day urine + 0.1 L/day feces + 0.9 L/day insensible
Extracellular (plasma) composition
Na 140 mEq/L
K 4 mEq/L
Cl 100 mEq/L
HCO3 24 mEq/L
Ca 9 mg/dl
Creatinine 200 mg/dl
Blood urea nitrogen 10 mg/dL
Uric acid 6 mg/dL
Glucose 100 mg/dL
Osmolality 290 mOsm/L
pH 7.4
Protein 1.5 mmol/L = 7 grams/dL
Albumin 4 g/dL
Globulins 3 g/dL
Blood
Red Blood Cells
male 5 million/mL = Hematocrit 48%
female 4.2 million/mL = hematocrit 42%
White Blood Cells 8,000/mL
Platelets 300,000/mL
Clotting
Bleeding time 5 min
Partial thromboplastin time (activated) 35 sec.
Prothrombin time 13 sec
Reticulocyte count 1%
Thrombin time < 2 sec. deviation from control
Cardiovascular / Blood pressure
 Aortic 120/80 mmHg
Systemic Capillary 20 mmHg
Systemic veins 10 mmHg
Thoracic vena cava 5 mmHg
Right atrium 0-5 mmHg
Right ventricle 0-25 mmHg
Pulmonary Artery 25/10 mmHg
Pulmonary vein 5 mmHg (wedge pressure)
Left atrium 5-15 mmHg
Left ventricle 5-120 mmHg
Heart rate 70 beats/min
Cell resting membrane potential -90 mV (varies by cell type)
Pulmonary
Intrathoracic pressure -6 mmHg
Spirometry
Tidal volume 500 ml
Inspiratory Reserve volume 3000 ml
Expiratory Reserve Volume 1200 ml
Residual volume 1200 ml
Total Lung Capacity 5900 ml
Peak expiratory flow 15 L/sec
Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec 80% of forced vital capacity
Dead space 150 ml
Respiratory rate 14 breaths/min
Total lung ventilation 7000 ml/min (TV * RR)
Alveolar ventilation 4900 ml/min ([TV – Dead space] * RR)
Blood Gasses
Arterial PO2 100 mmHg = 20 ml O2/dl = 98 % saturated hemoglobin
Arterial PCO2 40 mmHg
Arterial pH 7.40
Mixed venous PO2 = 40 mmHg = 15 ml O2/dl = 75% saturated hemoglobin
Mixed venous PCO2 = 46 mmHg
Mixed venous pH 7.36
Renal
Renal blood flow = 110 ml/min
Renal plasma flow = 625 ml/min
Glomerular filtration rate = 125 ml/minute
Maximum urine flow rate = 20 ml/min
Normal urine flow rate = 1 ml/min
Renal threshold for glucose excretion = plasma glucose of 250 mg/dl
Fractional excretion of Na = 1%