Circulation of fluid between plasma, interstitium and lymph

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

name the factors determining capillary fluid exchange and relate them using the Starling equation (11.1);

define ‘osmotic reflection coefficient’ and explain its importance (11.1, 11.3, 11.11);

outline the factors determining capillary pressure (11.2);

give typical values for human capillary pressure and plasma colloid osmotic pressure (11.2, 11.3);

sketch how extravascular protein concentration alters with filtration rate, and explain its importance (11.4);

outline how Starling pressures and fluid flux change along the capillary axis (11.6);

state the circumstances under which capillaries absorb interstitial fluid (11.6);

explain why normal tissue does not ‘pit’ but oedematous tissue does (11.7);

draw an interstitial pressure–volume relation, marking the normal and oedematous zones (11.7); list the functions of the lymphatic system and outline how lymph is moved (11.8);

categorize the causes of oedema and explain the ‘safety

margin’ (11.10);

list the changes that bring about inflammatory swelling (11.11).