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RICHARD A. PFOHL, MD

Arch Intern Med. 1965;116(5):681-688.

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Introduction

SUDDEN CHANGES in body acid-base balance are neutralized by the blood buffers within seconds. The lungs partially compensate for acidosis or alkalosis through increased or decreased excretion of CO₂ in a matter of minutes. The kidneys, however, are ultimately responsible for maintaining body pH within narrow limits. Their corrections are relatively slow, taking place through increased or decreased excretion of H⁺ or , over a period of hours to days.

In carnivorous and omnivorous animals like man, metabolism produces an excess of acid. (The term acid is here used to mean a proton or H⁺ donor in accord with the Brønsted concept of acids and bases). Carbohydrate metabolism, when completed aerobically, produces H₂O and CO₂ which can be eliminated by the lungs. However, phosphoric acid is continually formed by metabolic oxidation of nucleoproteins and phospholipids, while sulfuric acid is formed by oxidation of protein.¹ Somewhere between 20-100 mEq . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
MINNEAPOLIS

Formerly Chief, Admission Section, Minneapolis Veterans Hospital and Instructor in Medicine, University of Minnesota.

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