Publisher's Synopsis
Written by some of the world's foremost authorities on the physiology of water and electrolyte metabolism, this volume thoroughly explains the pathophysiology and clinical consequences of disturbances in water balance. The book first provides essential background information on the physiological regulation of normal water distribution and excretion - the compartments of the body fluids, the responses of cells to changes in extracellular tonicity, and the systemic and renal mechanisms responsible for osmotic homeostasis. The second section of the book, on clinical abnormalities in water balance, includes detailed analyses of the pathogenes of hyponatremic, hypernatremic, and polyuric stages; the clinical expressions of hypo- and hypernatremia and hyperglycemia; and the physiological and clinical responses to correction of these abnormalities. The final chapter examines the integrated renal response to abnormalities in tonicity.
