- Alkalosis
- A dangerous decrease in the normal acidity of the blood. There is too much base in the blood and body. This is a distinctly abnormal condition. It results from the accumulation of base or the depletion of acid. The pH of the alkalotic body measures above normal. Alkalosis can be caused by high altitudes, hyperventilation, and excessive vomiting. The opposite of alkalosis is acidosis in which there is too low a pH due to excess acid or insufficient base in the body.
* * *A state characterized by a decrease in the hydrogen ion concentration of arterial blood below normal level, 40 nmol/L, or pH 7.4. The condition may be caused by an increase in the concentration of alkaline compounds, or by a decrease in the concentration of acidic compounds or carbon dioxide.- acapnial a. SYN: respiratory a..- compensated a. a. in which there is a change in bicarbonate but the pH of body fluids approaches normal; respiratory a. may be compensated by increased production of metabolic acids or increased renal excretion of bicarbonate; metabolic a. is rarely compensated by hypoventilation.- compensated metabolic a. retention of acid, primarily carbon dioxide by the lung and acid ions by the renal tubules, to reduce the effect on the pH of the blood of excess alkali produced by ingestion or metabolism of alkali-producing substances.- compensated respiratory a. increased excretion of acid ions by the kidney to minimize the effect on the pH of the blood of excessive loss of carbon dioxide via the lungs, such as occurs with hyperventilation.- metabolic a. an a. associated with an increased arterial plasma bicarbonate concentration, possibly resulting from an excessive intake of alkaline materials or an excessive loss of acid in the urine or through persistent vomiting; the base excess and standard bicarbonate are both elevated. SEE ALSO: compensated a..- respiratory a. a. resulting from abnormal loss of CO2 produced by hyperventilation, either active or passive, with concomitant reduction in arterial plasma bicarbonate concentration. SEE ALSO: compensated a.. SYN: acapnial a..- uncompensated a. a. in which the pH of body fluids is elevated because of lack of the compensatory mechanisms of compensated a..
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al·ka·lo·sis .al-kə-'lō-səs n, pl -lo·ses -.sēz an abnormal condition of increased alkalinity of the blood and tissues compare ACIDOSIS, KETOSIS* * *
n.a condition in which the alkalinity of body fluids and tissues is abnormally high. This arises because of a failure of the mechanisms that usually maintain a balance between alkalis and acids in the arterial blood (see acid-base balance). Alkalosis may be associated with loss of acid through vomiting or with excessive sodium bicarbonate intake. Breathing that is abnormally deep in relation to the amount of physical exercise may lead to respiratory alkalosis. Alkalosis may produce symptoms of muscular weakness or cramp.* * *
al·ka·lo·sis (al″kə-loґsis) a pathologic condition resulting from accumulation of base, or from loss of acid without comparable loss of base in the body fluids, and characterized by decrease in hydrogen ion concentration (increase in pH). Cf. acidosis. alkalotic adj
Medical dictionary. 2011.
