Distribution of Body Fluids

• Total Body Water (TBW) = 60% (50 to 70) of

body weight; depends on fatty tissue.
- is highest in the newborn (80 - 85%) , child
(75%) and adult males (63%)
- lowest in adult females (53%)and in adults with
a large volume of adipose tissue
Body fluid
 Intracellular Fluid (ICF)

- is 2/3 of TBW, 40% of body weight in man,

- water forms about 75 - 80%
- the major cations are K+ and Mg2+
- the major anions are protein and organic
phosphates such as ATP, ADP and AMP;
- pH of ICF is 6.8 - 7.4 in dependence on the
metabolic processes;
 Extracellular Fluid (ECF)

- is 1/3 of TBW, 20% of body weight in man

- is comprised of interstitial fluid (16%) and plasma (4%).
Interstitial fluid is the true body environment.
- water constitutes about 93% of the plasma compartment
- the major cation is Na+;
- the major anions are Cl- and HCO3-;
- the ions in ECF determine osmotic pressure and pH of the
inner environment;
- osmolarity of the ECF is 290 mmol/kg of water;
- pH of ECF is 7.4
Plasma
- comprises 1/4 of the ECF = 3 l
- it is therefore 1/12 of TBW
- the major plasma proteins are albumin and globulins
Interstitial fluid
- comprises 3/4 of the ECF = 10.5 l
- it is 1/4 of TBW
- the composition is the same as plasma except it has
little protein;
- thus, interstitial fluid is an microfiltrate of plasma.
Transcellular fluid
⁻ the fluids that are not inside cells, but are separated
from plasma and interstitial fluid by cellular barriers;
cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid