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The sodium-potassium pump

This diagram shows a sodium potassium pump embedded in the cell membrane. In the first step, the pump is opened to the cytosol and closed to the extracellular fluid. First, three sodium ions move into the pump from the cytosol. An ATP molecule binds to the cytosol side of the pump, causing the pump to change shape and open to the extracellular fluid. The pump is now closed to the cytosol. The sodium ions are then released into the extracellular fluid, after which two potassium ions enter the pump. Also at this point, the used ADP detaches from the cytosol side of the pump, leaving a single phosphate attached. The pump then changes shape again so that it closes to the extracellular fluid and again opens to the cytosol. This releases the two potassium ions into the cytosol. The single phosphate also detaches from the pump at this point so that the cycle can start anew. Two bars along the right hand side of the figure indicate that sodium normally diffuses into the cell down its concentration gradient while potassium usually diffuses out of the cell down its concentration gradient. Therefore, the sodium potassium pump is working against these natural concentration gradients.
The sodium-potassium pump is powered by ATP to transfer sodium out of the cytoplasm and into the ECF. The pump also transfers potassium out of the ECF and into the cytoplasm. (credit: modification of work by Mariana Ruiz Villarreal)

Fluid movement between compartments

Hydrostatic pressure , the force exerted by a fluid against a wall, causes movement of fluid between compartments. The hydrostatic pressure of blood is the pressure exerted by blood against the walls of the blood vessels by the pumping action of the heart. In capillaries, hydrostatic pressure (also known as capillary blood pressure) is higher than the opposing “colloid osmotic pressure” in blood—a “constant” pressure primarily produced by circulating albumin—at the arteriolar end of the capillary ( [link] ). This pressure forces plasma and nutrients out of the capillaries and into surrounding tissues. Fluid and the cellular wastes in the tissues enter the capillaries at the venule end, where the hydrostatic pressure is less than the osmotic pressure in the vessel. Filtration pressure squeezes fluid from the plasma in the blood to the IF surrounding the tissue cells. The surplus fluid in the interstitial space that is not returned directly back to the capillaries is drained from tissues by the lymphatic system, and then re-enters the vascular system at the subclavian veins.

Capillary exchange

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Net filtration occurs near the arterial end of the capillary since capillary hydrostatic pressure (CHP) is greater than blood colloidal osmotic pressure (BCOP). There is no net movement of fluid near the midpoint of the capillary since CHP = BCOP. Net reabsorption occurs near the venous end of the capillary since BCOP is greater than CHP.

Watch this video to see an explanation of the dynamics of fluid in the body’s compartments. What happens in the tissue when capillary blood pressure is less than osmotic pressure?

Hydrostatic pressure is especially important in governing the movement of water in the nephrons of the kidneys to ensure proper filtering of the blood to form urine. As hydrostatic pressure in the kidneys increases, the amount of water leaving the capillaries also increases, and more urine filtrate is formed. If hydrostatic pressure in the kidneys drops too low, as can happen in dehydration, the functions of the kidneys will be impaired, and less nitrogenous wastes will be removed from the bloodstream. Extreme dehydration can result in kidney failure.

Fluid also moves between compartments along an osmotic gradient. Recall that an osmotic gradient is produced by the difference in concentration of all solutes on either side of a semi-permeable membrane. The magnitude of the osmotic gradient is proportional to the difference in the concentration of solutes on one side of the cell membrane to that on the other side. Water will move by osmosis from the side where its concentration is high (and the concentration of solute is low) to the side of the membrane where its concentration is low (and the concentration of solute is high). In the body, water moves by osmosis from plasma to the IF (and the reverse) and from the IF to the ICF (and the reverse). In the body, water moves constantly into and out of fluid compartments as conditions change in different parts of the body.

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Source:  OpenStax, Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax CNX. Feb 04, 2016 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11496/1.8
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