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Encyclopedia > Oncotic pressure

In blood plasma, the dissolved compounds have an osmotic pressure. The difference between the osmotic pressure exerted by plasma proteins (colloidal osmotic pressure) in blood plasma and that exerted by tissue fluid proteins is called the oncotic pressure. Because large plasma proteins can't easily cross through the capillary walls, their effect on the osmotic pressure of the capillary interiors will, to some extent, balance out the tendency for fluid to leak out of the capillaries. In conditions where plasma proteins are reduced, e.g. from being lost in the urine (proteinuria) or from malnutrition, the result of the too low oncotic pressure can be edema – excess fluid buildup in the tissues. Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Proteinuria (from protein and urine) means the presence of an excess of serum proteins in the urine. ... Percentage of population affected by malnutrition by country, according to United Nations statistics. ... Edema (American English) or oedema (British English), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is swelling of any organ or tissue due to accumulation of excess lymph fluid, without an increase of the number of cells in the affected tissue. ...


It is represented by the symbol π Lower-case pi The mathematical constant Ï€ is a real number which may be defined as the ratio of a circles circumference (Greek περιφέρεια, periphery) to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, and which is in common use in mathematics, physics, and engineering. ...


Related to hydrostatic pressure, starling equation. Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted by a fluid due to its weight. ... Formulated in 1896 by the British physiologist Ernest Starling, the Starling equation illustrates the role of hydrostatic and oncotic forces (the so-called Starling forces) in the movement of fluid across capillary membranes. ...


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  Results from FactBites:
 
Hydrostatic & oncotic pressures (674 words)
This pressure is determined by the interstitial fluid volume and by the compliance of the tissue, which is related to the ability of the tissue volume to increase.
Normally, when oncotic pressure is measured, it is measured across a semipermeable membrane – i.e., a membrane that is permeable to fluid and electrolytes but not to large protein molecules.
The oncotic pressure of the interstitial fluid depends on the interstitial protein concentration and the reflection coefficient of the capillary wall.
Fluid Physiology: 2.4 Colloid Osmotic Pressure (814 words)
It is referred to as colloid osmotic pressure (or sometimes as the oncotic pressure).
Oncotic pressure can be easily measured in the laboratory with instruments called oncometers.
Measurement in an oncometer shows the actual plasma oncotic pressure is about 25 mmHg which is equivalent to a plasma protein concentration of 1.3 mmol/kg.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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