Electrolytes in the Human Body

Electrolytes are solutes that contain a charge in aqueous solutions. Most acids, bases and salts are soluble in water are electrolytes.

Electrolytes are negatively or positively charged ion. Although many substances in the body are electrolytes, in nutrition and in sports drinks, the term electrolytes refers to the three principal electrolytes in body fluids: sodium, potassium and chloride.

These are electrolytes are among the most commonly monitored electrolytes in clinical practice.

These electrolytes are important in maintaining fluid balance and allowing nerve impulses to travel throughout out bodies, signaling the activities that are essential for life.

Sodium and potassium carry a positive charge, and chloride carries a negative charge.

The concentration of sodium, potassium and chloride inside a cell differ dramatically from those outside the cell.

An electrolyte is stored either intracellular or extracellular.

Potassium is the principal positively charged intracellular ion, sodium is the most abundant positively charged extracellular and chloride is the principal negatively charged extracellular ion.

Fluid move though the body continuously. The heart pumps the blood, pressure is extend on the vessels from outside the body, and muscles relax and contract to help move the fluid through the vascular system. Fluid moves into and out of the cells and the extracellular spaces by osmotic pressure.

Osmotic pressure is determined by the concentration of the electrolytes and other solutes in water.

The greater the difference in charge between two regions, the greater is potential for ions to move to their oppositely charged regions.
Electrolytes in the Human Body