A Renal Experiment Analysis - Report Example

Running Head: A RENAL EXPERIMENT REPORT A Renal Experiment Report Name Institution A Renal Experiment Report The body depends on the production of urine for the removal of waste products (Randal, Burggren, French & Eekert, 2002). This process is vital for the body to maintain health. urine is composed various elements including water, electrolytes and waste products filtered form the blood stream (Fischbach, & Dunning, 2008). In some way, the waste products of the various metabolic pathways in the body must be deposited. This process of cleaning up the blood stream mainly takes place in the kidneys where the blood is filtered to produce urine (Rand, 2006). The rate and subsequently the volume of urine production is mostly determined by several factors such as the health of the kidneys, the hydration levels of the body, hormones and also by the concentration of sodium or salt in the blood (Kozier, 2008). This report is about effects of various variables both chemical (caffeine) and physical (exercise) on body physiology and especially on the production of urine. The experiment used five groups. Group 1 consisted of 28 individuals of both sexes and consumed only water (high water group). Group 2 consisted of 29 individuals of both sexes who consumed high amounts of water ad salt. Group three had 32 individuals both male and female and consumed high amounts of water combined with exercise. Group four had 30males and females and consumed low levels of water and caffeine. the last group had high levels of caffeine with high levels of water and had 28 individuals of both sexes. The data derived from the experiment was used to plot various graphs showing the amount of urine produced over time, mean and standard deviation. Important findings are also discussed like the individuals’ blood pressures, pH, specific gravity, and colour of the urine samples. High Water Total vol. 1837 2867.5 4518 4198.5 2806.5 Standard deviations 104.04961 54.95124 71.89149 81.6624 88.58136 This category as you can see has the largest volumes of urine produced overtime with the rate of urine production increasing with time. This is mainly because the body is trying to eliminate cellular waste and also control the levels of extra cellular body fluids by increasing the rate of urine production and also by increasing the volume of urine produced (Greenberg, & Cheung, 2005). Controlling of the amount of water in the body is a very important process in humans as by producing the large amounts of urine the body excretes the excess amounts of water taken from the body. Therefore the increased volume of urine observed above reflects the amount of extra cellular fluids the subjects’ bodies had to spare (Collison, 2001). The urine volume, that is the level of water excreted in urine, must be adjusted to match the needs of the body because too much or too little water is dangerous. The blood pressure in this case increases with time and so does the pulse. The body temperature decreases over time and starts increasing after a while. The increased blood pressure and pulse are increased by a hormone called ADH which is present in the body in high levels and causes vasoconstriction to increase blood pressure and pulse (Nielsen, 1997). The temperature drops for a while because water is used as a heat sink by the body therefore absorbs the heat in the body leaving the body cooler. When a person is well hydrated or has consumed large amounts of water they will produce more urine with a pale colour or white colour. The specific gravity of the urine was also another factor that was observed. In this case it was lower because the urine was less concentrated meaning it contained less minerals and salts, and other compounds usually dissolved in water. The pH was also higher. High Water and High Salt Total vol. 1117.8 1580.6 2413.8 2166.4 1571.4 Standard deviation 33.87202 55.27548 76.70189 70.04881 61.21267 The rate of urine production increases with time according to the results. The volume of the urine produced is also high but not as high as the one produced above in high water only situation. Generally the level of water in the body does not affect sodium in the body or the fluid control system therefore drinking large amounts of water will not change the total amount of sodium that ends up in the urine or even change the volume of blood (Hoagland, Dodson, & Hauck, 2001). However drinking more water can and will increase the volume of the urine produced as the body keeps in control the level of fluids and therefore keep the volume of blood stable. Moreover increasing the amount of sodium or salt and other ions also in a large volume will definitely increase the volume of urine (Valentine, ICRP. 2003). Increasing the amount of water that an individual consumes will generally not increase the amount of salt lost by the blood and therefore the blood pressure will not be decreased. Therefore the pulse rate and the temperature will not increase either. The colour of the urine in this case will resemble the case above as the individuals will have consumed a lot of water therefore greater volumes of urine with a low concentration of salt (Coulston, & Boushev, 2008). The colour will therefore remain pale or white in colour. The pH of the urine in this case will be a bit basic because of the increased amount of salt being excreted from the body (Hirst, 2001). The specific gravity of the urine in this case will be higher than that of the case above because the urine will be more concentrated and the higher the concentration of the urine the higher the specific gravity. Exercise and High Water Total vol. 1833 3688 4823 3455 3323 Standard deviation 63.64226 96.55552 110.2786 92.07167 84.873 Water is lost from ones body generally through three main ways that is sweating, respiration and urinating. To check excessive loss of water from the body there are various mechanisms that have been put in place to check this and they include kidneys and pores (William, McArdle, Katch, & Katch, 2009). So during exercise when sweating is high because of the hot conditions caused by increased body temperatures, one urinates less to save water and it can be fatal if it goes unchecked. However in our case the body is drenched in water during exercise and this excess amount of water has to be eliminated from the body hence the increased amounts of urine observed (Borer, 2003). The blood pressures in this case increases and so does the temperature and pulse because of the increased activity in the body. During exercise the body also conserves a lot of sodium and it also acts in increasing the blood pressure. The specific gravity also drops because of the low concentration of the urine. The pH is acidic mainly because of the increased breakdown of fats, ketones and other proteins (Maughan, & Burke, 2002). The colour of the urine is not so pale anymore because of the ketones and other products of the broken down proteins. Caffeine, Caffeine + Water Total vol 1484 1980.5 2292 1656 1298 1331.5 1963.2 1729.5 1339 1361.5 Standard deviation 52.09965 71.82343 61.19262 50.50673 44.26365 71.86098 76.23678 61.71903 68.88999 46.24829 This graph shows the rate of urine production after consumption of caffeine and also the production of urine after consumption of caffeine and low amounts of water. The rate of urine production is higher in the case of caffeine than that observed in the caffeine and low water situation. The volumes of urine produced are also higher in the caffeine category than these observed in the category of caffeine and low water. From the above observations it is clear that caffeine does have a diuretic effect (Insel, Ross, Mcmahon, & Bernstein, 2010). This is because the experiment demonstrated that caffeine caused increased amounts of urine produced even under low water circumstances. This diuretic effect tricks the body into thinking that it has enough water to spare hence the increased amounts of urine (Chiras, 2005). In this case the blood pressure also falls because of the decreased ADH production. This releases its constriction of the veins hence the observed fall in blood pressure. the fall in blood pressure leads to a low pulse. When caffeine is broken down in the stomach, the end product is acidic and this causes the fall in the pH of the urine produced. The specific gravity of the urine is also higher as compared to the other cases because of the increased concentration of the urine. The concentration is higher because little urine is produced because the body does not have enough water in the real sense. The body temperature also increases because the body does not have enough extra cellular fluids to act as a heat sink for the body. The urine is also darker in colour with a stronger odour. (Insel, Turner, & Ross, 2009). Experimental Design In my opinion this experiment could have given better, understandable and more standard results if it had been performed in a controlled area using controlled subjects. Generally the production of urine is not standard to all human beings. Some produce more others average and other very little according to their physiology. The pH, colour, content and hence the specific gravity of the urine, the body temperatures, the pulse and the blood pressure are entities that depend on the reactions and activities taking place in the body. All the individuals who were chosen to take the experiment had different physiological reactions due to disease, hormones, heart problems, hunger, different kind of foods they had consumed, activities they undertook everyday and other entities. This alone would have caused them to have variations on their urine production. To solve this all the subjects undertaking the experiment should have lived in a controlled environment like eating uniform food, doing the same activities and they should all have been healthy with no disease or hormonal imbalances that could cause variations on urine production (Glantz, 2005). The urine should also have been collected at the same time and stored in the same conditions. These are some of the shortcomings that could have caused inaccurate data collection hence inaccurate conclusions on urine production. To improve these conclusions or to harvest reliable data from such experiments therefore requires careful selection of subjects and also carefully controlled areas for the subjects to live for the time the experiment is running. Another shortcoming that could have caused inconsistencies and inaccurate results and conclusions is the fact that the individuals were of different age groups and in some cases the differences were huge. It is common knowledge that different age groups have different rates of reactions in their bodies and also the type of reactions differs. This shortcoming could have caused major variations unnecessarily clouding the kinds of conclusions that could have been drawn. For better results I would advice that individuals of the same age group be used to put more control on the results and bring us closer to the true conclusions. Another factor that could have caused inaccurate results is the use of different genders to draw conclusions on the same experiment. Women experience much more hormonal imbalances than men do and this causes variations in their metabolisms hence reactions. Drawing conclusion on the production of urine from both sexes is therefore wrong. One sex should have been used to get results on the experiment so as to improve constituency and accuracy. All in all the experiment was not a total failure as important conclusions were drawn using the data collected. For example it was proved that indeed caffeine is a diuretic and it can lead to dehydration. Other important conclusions were also made for example the fact that large amounts of water in the body have to be eliminated so as the body to maintain the exact levels of fluid needed. References Borer, K. T. (2003). Exercise endocrinology. Illinois: Human Kinetics. Chiras, D.D. (2005). Human biology. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Collison, P. (2001). Nelson GCSE modular science. England; Nelson Thornes. Coulston, A., M. & Boushev, C. (2008). Nutrition in the prevention and treatment of disease. Cambridge: Academic Press. Fischbach, F. T. & Dunning, M. B. (2008). Manual of laboratory and diagnostic tests. London: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Glantz, S. A. (2005). Primer of biostatistics. London: McGraw-Hill Professional. Greenberg, & Cheung, A. K. (2005). Primer on kidney diseases. London: Elsevier Health Sciences. Hirst, K. (2001). Modular Science for AQA. Britain: Heinemann. Hoagland, M. B., Dodson, B. & Hauck, J. (2001). Exploring the way life works: the science of biology Biology Series. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Insel, P., Ross, D., Mcmahon, K. & Bernstein, M. (2010). Nutrition. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Insel, P., Turner, R. E., & Ross, D. (2009). Discovering Nutrition. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Kozier, B. (2008). Fundamentals of nursing: concepts process and practice. Volume 2008, Part 2. New York: Pearson Education. Nielsen, K. S. (1997). Animal physiology: adaptation and environment. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. Randal, D. J., Burggren, W. W., French, K. & Eekert, R. (2002). Eckert animal physiology: mechanisms and adaptations. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co. Rand, J. (2006). Problem-based feline medicine. London: Elsevier Health Sciences. Valentine, J., ICRP. (2003). Basic anatomical and physiological data for use in radiological protection. London: Health Sciences. William, D., McArdle, Katch, F. L. & Katch, V. L. (2009). Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance. London: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Read More