Physiology 2130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Identity Element, Bicarbonate, Metabolic Alkalosis

• School: Western University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: Physiology 2130
• Professor: Christine Bell

Document Summary

Relationship between hydrogen ions (h+) and acidity. Many chemical reactions that take place in the body, and most of the machinery inside all the cells, are very sensitive to the presence of hydrogen ions. Hydrogen ions (h+) can alter the shape of proteins that act as enzymes that speed up chemical reactions. As a result, any change in h+ concentration of will affect the activity of almost every cell: therefore, it is essential that h+ concentration be very carefully regulated. In some situations, the hydrogen ion may simply be called a proton. An acid is any molecule that will release hydrogen ions when put in a solution: for example, hydrochloric acid (hcl) will break apart (or dissociate) into free hydrogen ions (free h+) and chloride ions (cl-) It is very important to know the concentration of free h+ in solution in the body you don"t want too many h+ ions or too few.