What Do Kidneys Do?
5. Maintain Normal Body pH
For many physiologic processes to take place efficiently, the body’s pH must remain within a specific pH range. To achieve this, the body has various mechanisms that take place in the kidneys to prevent fluctuations in pH. These mechanisms come in two forms: those that prevent minute-to-minute fluctuations in pH throughout the day, and those that maintain the right pH from one day to the next.
Short term fluctuations are prevented when the kidneys reabsorb bicarbonate, and prevent its loss through urine. This maintains the level of the substrate in plasma and therefore prevents minute-to-minute fluctuations. The other process involves bicarbonate regeneration. This restores your body’s supply of bicarbonate, which then maintains the right pH.
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