Extracellular Fluid

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The Internal Environment
About 60 percent of the adult human body is fluid, mainly a water solution of ions and other substances. Although most of this fluid is inside the cells and is called intracellular fluid, about one third is in the spaces outside the cells and is called extracellular fluid. This extracellular fluid is in constant motion throughout the body. It is transported rapidly in the blood and the tissue fluids by diffusion through the capillary walls. In the extracellular fluid are the ions and nutrients needed by the cells to maintain cell life. Thus all cells live in essentially the same environment. For this reason, the extracellular fluid is also called the internal environment of the body. Cells are capable of living, growing and performing their special functions as long as the proper concentrations of oxygen, glucose, different ions, amino acids, fatty substances, and other constituents are available in this internal environment.


Difference between Extracellular and Intracellular Fluid
The extracellular fluid contains large amounts of sodium, chloride, and bicarbonate ions and nutrients for the cells, such as oxygen, glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. It is also contains carbon dioxide that is being transported from the cells to the lungs to be excreted, plus other cellular waste products that are being transported to the kidneys for excretion. The intracellular fluid differs significantly from the extracellular fluid; specially, it contains large amounts of potassium, magnesium, and phosphate ions instead of the sodium and chloride ions the extracellular fluid. Special mechanisms for transporting ions through the cell membranes maintain the ion concentration differences between the extracellular and intracellular fluids

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