Comparative Aspects of Extracellular Acid-Base Balance

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XIV

   PDF

2. General Properties of Water and Body Fluids as Acid-Base Systems

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 1-27

3. Methodological Approaches and Problems

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 29-40

4. Extracellular Acid-Base Status and the Nature of the Respiratory Medium

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 41-61

5. Acid-Base Balance and Respiratory Gases in the Ambient Medium

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 63-81

6. Extracellular Acid-Base Balance in Aquatic Animals as a Function of the Ionic Composition and the Acid-Base Balance of the Ambient Water

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 83-99

7. Extracellular Acid-Base Balance and Body Temperature

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 101-135

8. Comparative Physiology and Evolution of Acid-Base Regulatory Mechanisms

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 137-181

9. Extracellular Acid-Base Balance in Some Specific Physiological Situations

   • Jean-Paul Truchot

   Pages 183-200

10. Back Matter

    Pages 201-248

    PDF

Interest in comparative acid-base physiology has considerably grown during last decades even in the absence of major technical or conceptual advances. This is firstly because it has become clear that the extracellular acid-base state reflects the performance of many exchange functions at the organism level: respiration and ventilation of the gas exchange surfaces, metab­ olism, iono-and osmoregulation. Such functions are much in­ fluenced by ambient conditions, and the measurement of acid­ base parameters thus provides useful information about the organism's responses to environmental challenges. Secondly, many processes at the molecular level are now known to be pH­ sensitive, and acid-base regulation thus appears to be a major requirement for the functional integrity of cells and organisms. How extracellular acid-base balance can be maintained in a wide variety of animals living in different conditions is the sub­ ject of this book. The approach is comparative and environ­ mental throughout. All body fluids share similar buffer proper­ ties, and common physicochemical principles apply to any acid­ base system. However, in accord with differing designs and con­ straints along animal evolution, varying effector organs and mechanisms are at work to maintain an appropriate acid-base state in the organism. Particular emphasis is placed on the fun­ damental differences between water and air breathers and on the acid-base and respiratory problems arising at the transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial life. Also the complex array of factors influencing the acid-base state in water-dwelling animals is thoroughly discussed.

• Vivo
• adaptation
• animals
• evolution
• metabolism
• physiology
• respiration
• system

• Laboratoire de Neurobiologie et Physiologie Comparées, University of Bordeaux, Arcachon, France

  Jean-Paul Truchot

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