ABSTRACT
After reading the following chapter and undertaking personal study, you should be able to:
Define the terms ‘acid’ and ‘base’.
Identify examples of acids and bases that are encountered in everyday life and clinical practice.
List the properties of acids and bases.
Outline the first-aid measures to be taken in chemical burns.
Describe the pH scale and identify clinical practice situations in which it is used.
Identify the products of a reaction between an acid and a base and give an example of this reaction in clinical practice.
Distinguish between the meaning of the terms ‘strength’ and ‘concentration’ when used in connection with acids and bases and relate this to clinical practice.
Define the term ‘buffer’ and give examples in the body.
Outline the regulation of acid–base balance in the body by reference to buffer systems, respiratory regulation and renal regulation.
Using the results of laboratory tests, identify an acid–base imbalance as either acidosis or alkalosis and distinguish the cause as either respiratory or metabolic.
