pH Buffering in Human Blood

base concentration (mM)

0

acid concentration (mM)

0

This Demonstration simulates the buffer system in human blood, showing its resistance to a change in pH by the addition of acid or base. Human blood contains carbonic acid

H

2

CO

3

and bicarbonate anion

-

HCO

3

, which form a buffer to maintain blood pH between 7.35 and 7.45.

Move the sliders to control the acid or base added to the buffer system. The pH is calculated using the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation:

pH=

pK

a

(

H

2

CO

3

)+log[

-

HCO

3

][

H

2

CO

3

]

. The pH is plotted as a function of concentration. The smiley face changes according to the pH value: it smiles only when the pH is within the healthy range. A yellow sad face means that the person is experiencing acidosis; a blue sad face means alkalosis.

Details

[1] J. Pietri and D. Land. "Blood as a Buffer." (Nov 24, 2021) chem.libretexts.org/@go/page/1297.

[2] Wikipedia. "Bicarbonate Buffer System." (Nov 24, 2021) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicarbonate_buffer_system.

[3] Khan Academy. "Chemistry of Buffers and Buffers in Our Blood." (Nov 24, 2021) www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/chemical-processes/acid-base-equilibria/a/chemistry-of-buffers-and-buffers-in-blood.

Permanent Citation

Claire Chen, Hongdi Wu, Dalia Hassan, Yifan Lai, Kristina M. Lenn

"pH Buffering in Human Blood"
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/PHBufferingInHumanBlood/
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
Published: December 17, 2021