Question

How does your body control your blood pH?

Answer 1

A variety of ways. The quickest way is via breathing.

The air you breathe converts to carbonic acid in the lungs. There it converts to bicarbonate to donate hydrogen and lower the ph. Conversely, the bicarbonate can become protonated, which you can then exhale from your lungs, raising the ph.

Answer 2

@unknownunknown that also relates to why a small difference in blood pH can cause serious health problems right?

Answer 3

this is the full question:
A small difference in blood pH can cause serious health problems. How does your body control your blood pH?

Answer 4

If you look at the blood ph, it has what's called a buffering region. Even if you put a lot of acid or base into the blood, the buffering region will ensure that the ph remains more or less the same. Imagine the following graph -

See where the ph=7.4? Even if you add acid or base, the ph remains constant.

If however the blood ph does lower too much, acidosis is the result, and if it raises too much, alkalosis. Then yes you're right, these conditions can have severe health consequences.

Answer 5

Those axes are terrible. But where x = 0, y = -1 (completely arbitrary), that's the line doesn't change much as x changes (imagine x is an acid or base).

Answer 6

Ok so is this a good final answer? :
If the blood pH lowers then acidosis is the result and if it raises to much then alkalosis is the result. Your body controls your blood pH in a number of ways, the most efficient way being breathing. The air you breathe converts to carbonic acid in the lungs. There it converts to bicarbonate to donate hydrogen and lower the ph. Conversely, the bicarbonate can become protonated, which you can then exhale from your lungs, raising the ph.

Answer 7

I kinda just put everything you said into my own words

Answer 8

Yep, very good. Looks good to me.

Answer 9

Thank you!