Claude Bernard studied the extra cellular fluids (ECF) properties
carefully and found them to be remarkably stable. This is particularly
true of the most complex of the multicellular organisms, the birds, and
mammals. whether placed in warm locations or cold, whether recently fed
or starved, no matter what kind of food taken in the diet, he found that
the composition of the ECF remains relatively unchanged. In a real sense,
the most adaptable of our higher animals actually are made of cells whose
environment, the ECF, remains unchanged despite wide fluctuations in the
external environment. Bernard was able to discover several mechanisms by
which the mammalian body is able to maintain this constancy of its internal
environment. He was so impressed by his findings that he wrote, "The constancy
of the internal environment is the condition of a free and independent
life."
The less complex animals are, however, less capable in this respect,
and this may account for the more restricted lives they live. Early
in the twentieth century, the American physiologist Walter Cannon discovered
still other mechanisms by which the stability of the internal environment
is maintained. He coined the word "homeostasis" to describe this constancy
of the ECF.
Lets look closer at the extra cellular fluid.
Water: The most obvious component of the ECF of any organism---animal,
plant, or protist--- is water. This substance is uniquely suited for the
functions it must carry out as the chief component of the ECF. It is unsurpassed
as a solvent. In this role it brings to the cell many of the other molecules
and ions that make up the ECF and without which life would be impossible.
Not only does water serve as the medium in which substances are carried
to and from the cells, but it also enters the cells and plays a vital role
in the chemical activities within.
Gases: The ECF also contains gases, the most important of which
are oxygen and carbon dioxide. Almost all living cells require oxygen and
must get rid of their waste carbon dioxide. When chlorophyll-containing
cells are exposed to light, they take carbon dioxide from and release oxygen
to the ECF.
Minerals: The ECF also contains dissolved minerals, or salts,
in the form of positively and negatively charged ions.
A short list would look something like this. Na+ (except for plants),
K+, Ca++, Mg++, PO4---, Cl-, SO4--, HCO3-, Fe++, Cu++, Mn++, Zn++, B+++
(required by plants, certain protists), Mo+ (required by plants; certain
protists and animals), V++ (certain protists and animals), Co++ (certain
animals, protists, and plants), and on and on. Almost every natural element
can be found in trace amounts in living cells. Most of them serve a purpose,
some we don't know if they are needed or are just a form of pollution in
the cells. Some we know to be harmful if over certain levels and attempt
to remove them through chelation. Some, such as calcium (Ca++), potassium
(K+), sodium (Na+), chloride (Cl-), phosphate (PO4---), and bicarbonate
(HCO3-), are present in relatively large quantities in animals. Calcium
ions are an essential constituent of our bones as well as the "cement"
that holds individual cells together in tissues. A proper balance of potassium
and sodium ions within and without the cell is necessary for the responsiveness
shown by nerve and muscle cells. Chloride ions play a major role in maintaining
the normal physical properties of the ECF. Phosphate ions are intimately
involved in the distribution and use of energy within the cell. Bicarbonate
ions function in the transport of carbon dioxide and help keep the ECF
from becoming too acid or too alkaline. Plants require substantial quantities
of nitrates (NO3-) in order to synthesize amino acids and, from them, proteins.
Many ions are required only in minute quantities. They are called trace
elements. Most of these trace elements are either incorporated in enzymes
directly or are necessary for the activation of enzymes. Iodine is incorporated
in the hormone thyroxin, and small quantities of the fluoride ion (F-)
are important in strengthening the mineral portions of teeth and
bone.
Some years ago in Australia large numbers of sheep were dying
of starvation and anemia, even though the grass was green and lush. The
sheep were treated with a crude iron compound and recovered their health.
It was soon realized that it wasn't the iron, but traces of cobalt in the
iron that helped the sheep. Injecting the cobalt did not help, it had to
be taken by mouth (orally) to help the sheep. Turns out that the
cobalt was being used by bacteria in the sheep digestive systems and the
bacteria in their turn were making vitamin B12, which the sheep needed
but were unable to make themselves. Man also has bacteria in his digestive
system which produce vitamins that man can not produce himself. Remember
that vitamins are organic substances, and trace elements are ionic mineral
substances, that the body can not produce itself. Vitamins and ionic minerals
are used by enzymes to perform may important functions in the body and
cells. The vitamins and trace elements are provided by the foods eaten
and if not present in the foods must be obtained by other means.
Not only must certain ions be present in the ECF, but the relative
concentration of the various ions must often be held within rather narrow
limits, ratios to each other must be in balance.
--to be continued--
Bless you, Bob Lee
--
oozing on the muggy shore of the gulf coast
l...@fbtc.net
--
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