Dehydration and Medical Physiology - Essay Example

Definitions Dehydration Dehydration refers to your body not having enough water or fluids as ought to. Dehydration can be categorized as mild, moderate or severe. It gets caused by lose of too much fluid or not drinking enough water or a combination of both. A person may lose too much water or fluids through excessive sweating, excessive urination, vomiting or diarrhea. Lack of enough intake of water may be caused by loss of appetite, sore throat or nausea. Signs for dehydration include; rapid heart rate, poor skin turgor, low blood pressure, low or no urine output, sunken eyes or shock (Ganong, 2005). Na+ (sodium ion) is a positive and major ion in fluids outside of body cells. Its major function is to regulate water and fluid levels in the body. Na+ is involved in transmission of nerve impulses (Ganong, 2005). Normal sodium levels in the body is between 135-145mmol/L. High levels of Na+ in the body results to hypernatremia while low levels result to hypernatremia. K+ is a positive ion found inside of body cells. The main function of K+ is to regulate heartbeat and body muscle function. Normal body levels of K+ is between 3.5-5.0mmol/L. An increase in body levels of K+ results to hyperkalemia while a decrease below normal results to hypokalemia. Increase or decrease in K+ levels results to irregular heartbeats known as arrhythmias and can also result in nervous system impairment (Ganong, 2005). Ca++ refers to ionized calcium in the serum. Its main functions are for blood clotting, transmission of nerve impulses, cell membrane permeability and muscle contraction. Normal blood calcium level ranges between 2.2 -2.6mmol/L. An excess of calcium ions in the serum results to hypercalcemia while a deficit results to hypocalcaemia. A decrease in serum calcium levels results to neuromuscular irritability. Phosphorus (P) main function in the body is it gets distributed as Adenosine-triphosphate which is the main chemical energy for the body. It is a major component of DNA and RNA. It is also essential for teeth and bone formation. High levels of phosphorus in the body results to increase risk of cardiovascular diseases. Normal values of phosphorous in blood range from 2.4-4.1mg/dL (Ganong, 2005). HORMONES ADH- antidiuretic hormone also gets called as arginine vasopressin. It becomes secreted in the posterior pituitary gland. It plays a key role in regulating body water by reducing its loss through urine. It stimulates water reabsorption in the kidney tubules. Artrial natriuretic hormone refers to a cardiac hormone whose gene and receptors get found in largely the whole body. It gets secreted by heart muscle cells. Its main function is to regulate electrolyte homeostasis and lower blood pressure (Ganong, 2005). It mainly targets the kidney and cardiovascular system. It regulates sodium and potassium in the body to regulate body water. Aldosterone is produced in the adrenal gland. Its main function is to enhance retention of water in the kidneys by regulating sodium and potassium secretion and thus increase blood pressure (Ganong, 2005). It promotes water and Na+ retention while lowering K+ plasma concentration. Rennin refers to an enzyme secreted in special kidney cells. It gets produced when the body has low sodium and blood volume levels. It also acts in release of aldosterone. Its main function is in regulating blood pressure. PTH gets produced in the parathyroid gland. It is known as parathyroid hormone. It is important in regulation of body phosphorus and calcium levels. T3 also known as triiodothyronine are hormones produced in the thyroid gland. T3 hormone becomes involved in controlling serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain. It also gets used in regulation of body metabolism (Ganong, 2005). T4 also gets referred to as thyroxine. It becomes produced in the thyroid gland. It becomes essential for normal brain development. TSH gets referred to as thyroid stimulating hormone. It becomes produced in the anterior pituitary gland and gets involved in the regulation of endocrine functions of the thyroid gland. Insulin hormone gets produced in the pancreas situated in the liver. Its function is to regulate glucose levels in the body. It becomes involved in fat metabolism. Hydrostatic pressure and osmotic pressure apply in blood capillaries. Hydrostatic pressure results from forces generated by the heart and gravity (Ganong, 2005). Hydrostatic pressure tends to force fluids outside the capillary. Since the plasma proteins do not leave the capillary, they exert osmotic pressure which draws fluid into the capillary. Osmotic and hydrostatic pressures ensure that fluids leave the capillaries from the arterial end, and they get drawn back in at the venous end. Regular hydrostatic and osmotic pressures ensure that edema is not produced in the body (Ganong, 2005). INTRAVENOUS FLUIDS Isotonic: isotonic fluids refer to fluids whose osmolarity is similar to that of the cells. It refers to a solution with equal solute and water as that of cells and therefore, results in no change of cell fluid volume since there is no net movement of water. Hypotonic: refers to a solution with less solute than water and thus less osmolarity than cells. This results in water to move into the cell resulting to increase in cell volume and therefore, causing them to swell (Ganong, 2005). Hypertonic: refers to a solution with higher osmolarity than cells and contains more solute than water. This causes water to move out of cells resulting to their shrinking. Extracellular fluids refer to fluids not contained within cells. It refers to fluid contained in the lymph and body cavities. Intracellular fluids refer to fluids within cells. Extracellular fluids have a high sodium and low potassium concentration while intracellular fluids contain a high potassium and low sodium concentration (Ganong, 2005). CAUSES OF PERIPHERAL EDEMA Edema refers to accumulation of fluids within body tissues. Peripheral edema refers to accumulation of fluids in areas around the legs or lower limbs. It may be caused by hypertension, pregnancy, aging, heart failure, alcoholism or trauma. CAUSES AND SIGNS OF ACID BASE IMBALANCE Acid-base balance is necessary for regulating the blood pH to allow for enzyme action. An increase in blood pH gets referred to as alkalemia and results from a decrease in H+ while a decrease in blood pH gets referred to as acidemia/acidosis and is a result of an increase in H+. alkalemia can be caused by respiratory or metabolic alkalosis. Acidosis gets caused by respiratory acidosis or metabolic acidosis. Metabolic acidosis results to nausea, fatigue and vomiting. Respiratory acidosis may cause for headaches and confusion while breathing may be slower. Alkalosis results to irritability, muscle weakness or muscle twitches (Ganong, 2005). DIABETES MELITUS Diabetes mellitus refers to a condition in which blood sugar levels become elevated beyond normal levels. It gets caused by lack of insulin secretion or the lack of insulin secreted working. There are two types of diabetes, diabetes type 1 and diabetes type 2. Type 1 gets referred to as insulin dependent while type 2 gets referred to as non insulin dependent. Hyperglycemia is refers to a rise above normal in blood sugar concentration levels while hypoglycemia refers to a fall below the normal level in blood sugar concentration. The main signs in hyperglycemia include; excessive thirst, increased urination, fatigue, blurred vision, dry mouth and weight loss (Ganong, 2005). Signs associated with hypoglycemia include; nervousness, palpitations, sweating, weakness and increased hunger. Glycosylated hemoglobin refers to a test conducted to determine and provide a picture of patients diabetes control. Glycosylated hemoglobin refers to the glucose left in blood when not used for energy by the body (Ganong, 2005). It measures the amount of glucose attached to the hemoglobin. It provides results on blood sugar for past several months. HbA1c test gets conducted every 3-6 months. The following values represent HbA1c values: 6% 120mg/dl- very good 8% 180mg/dl- good 10% 240mg/dl- bad 13% 330mg/dl- dangerous Graves disease- is an autoimmune disorder that results to overreaction of the thyroid gland. It gets referred to as hyperthyroidism. It becomes caused by the thyroid gland secreting too much thyroid hormone. Its symptoms include; anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, fatigue, frequent bowel movements, nervousness, and double vision and muscle weakness (Ganong, 2005). Addison’s disease- refers to a rare severe condition, which gets caused by failure of adrenal glands. Addison’s disease symptoms are rare and usually manifest after 90% of adrenal cortex becomes destroyed. Symptoms include; loss of weight, severe fatigue and weakness, nausea and vomiting, low blood pressure, increased pigmentation of skin, salt craving and pain in the muscles and joints. Thyroid disease- the thyroid is an endocrine gland. Thyroid disease results to a change in your body’s utilization of energy. It can result in the slow use of energy by the body called hypothyroidism or faster use of energy called hyperthyroidism (Ganong, 2005). Symptoms associated with hypothyroidism include; weight gain, fatigue and sensitivity to cold. Symptoms associated with hyperthyroidism include; weight loss, increased heart rate and sensitivity to hot temperatures. Cushings disease- refers to a syndrome that is as a result of hormonal disorder. It gets caused by extended exposure of body tissues to high levels of cortisol hormone. It gets referred to as hypercortisolism. Symptoms include; upper body obesity, increased fat around neck regions, rounded face, thinning legs and arms. It also results to fragile skin, which bruises off easily. Diabetes insipidus- it is a rare condition which results as a cause of the kidney failing to conserve water as they filter the blood. It gets caused by lack of antidiuretic hormone in which it’s referred to as central diabetes insipidus. Its symptoms include; excessive thirst and excessive urine volume (Ganong, 2005). STRESS RESPONSE, EFFECTS OF CATECHOLAMINES (EPINEPHRINE, NOREPINEPHRINE) Epinephrine is a hormone and neurotransmitter. It gets referred to as adrenaline. Its functions are; increase heart rate, dilate air passages, constrict blood vessels and take part in flight or fight response. Norepinephrine is a hormone and neurotransmitter. It mainly effects on where attention and responses become controlled in the brain. It acts in partnership with epinephrine during stress responses. It gets involved in flight or fight response where it stimulates increase in heart rate, increase in blood flow to skeletal muscle and release of glucose from energy stores (Ganong, 2005). PAIN RESPONSE, ADAPTATION AND STRUCTURES INVOLVED Human body is made up of the central nervous system which gets composed of the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system gets composed of sensory nerves and motor. Sensory and motor nerves become spread out through the body accessing all areas. Sensory nerves send impulses to the brain on what a human being feels. In case of pain, pain receptors called nociceptors respond in the event of an injury which causes pain (Ganong, 2005). Pain causes the nociceptors to compress and this triggers impulses which get sent to the brain via the spinal cord. In the brain, pain signals become directed to the thalamus which configures the signal to a few areas for interpretation. The cortex part of brain becomes involved with figuring out where the pain originated from and compares it to other kinds of pain its familiar with. Also involved in the brain is the limbic system which attaches emotion towards the pain signal received such as crying. Bibliography Ganong, W. F. (2005). Review of medical physiology. New York: Mc-Graw Hill medical. Read More