Question

A person eats a grapefruit and drinks a large cup of coffee AND a cup of orange juice for breakfast (I guess they were thirsty). All these items are acidic! How will the respiratory and renal systems respond? Include a description of how the respiratory system detects the error signal and activates its response.

Answer 1

Increase in the no.of H+ ions (due to acidic foods) leads to muscle contractility and Atp formation.

Decrease in ph leads to acidosis as a result of this error signal, arterial and brain baro receptors get stimulated leading to increased respiratory rate.

The respiratory system helps to regulate the acid base balance by increasing respiration rate when H+ ions increase. This results in release of more carbon dioxide to blood as bicarbonates to be exhaled by lungs due to higher respiration rate.

When H+ ions begin to rise due to carbon dioxide or lactate accumulation , bicarbonate ions buffer H+ ions to prevent acidosis.

If partial pressure of co2 increases, proton secretion (H+) becomes dominant and kidney excretes H+ ions to raise the ph of blood. Excretion of H+ occurs in the proximal tubule. Co2 combines with water to form Hydrogen bicarbonate . Further it dissociates to form Bicarbonate ions. H+ is excreted in exchange of Na+.