Release & Reuptake of Tissue Fluid
- Plasma is a straw-coloured liquid that constitutes around 55 % of the blood
- Plasma is largely composed of water (95 %) and, because water is a good solvent, many substances can dissolve in it, allowing them to be transported around the body
- As blood passes through capillaries some plasma is forced out through gaps in the walls of the capillary to surround the cells of the body; this results in the formation of tissue fluid
- The composition of plasma and tissue fluid are very similar, although tissue fluid contains fewer proteins and cells
- Proteins are too large to fit through gaps in the capillary walls and so remain in the blood
- Red blood cells and platelets are not present in the tissue fluid as they are also too large to leave the capillaries
- Tissue fluid bathes almost all the cells of the body that are outside the circulatory system
- Exchange of substances between cells and the blood occurs via the tissue fluid
- For example, carbon dioxide produced in aerobic respiration will leave a cell, dissolve into the tissue fluid surrounding it, and then move back into the capillary
The effect of blood pressure on tissue fluid
Tissue fluid formation at the arterial end
- When blood is at the arterial end of a capillary the blood pressure is high enough to force fluid out of the capillary
- The process by which tissue fluid is forced out of the capillaries at high pressure is known as pressure filtration
Reuptake of tissue fluid at the venous end
- At the venous end of the capillary the blood pressure within the capillary is reduced due to increased distance from the heart and the slowing of blood flow as it passes through the capillaries
- Tissue fluid drains back into the capillaries from the tissues
- Roughly 90 % of the fluid lost at the arterial end of the capillary is reabsorbed at the venous end
- The other 10 % remains as tissue fluid and is eventually collected by vessels known as lymph vessels
- From the lymph vessels the fluid is eventually returned to the circulatory system
The effect of solute concentration on tissue fluid
- Pressure filtration occurs due to the outward force exerted by high blood pressure at the arterial end of capillaries, but high blood pressure isn't the only factor that affects tissue fluid:
- After pressure filtration has occurred, proteins remain in the blood as they are too large to pass through the pores in the capillary wall
- The increased protein concentration of the capillary creates a solute gradient between the capillary and the tissue fluid
- The solutes in this case are the proteins in the blood
- The solute gradient exerts an inward pull on the tissue fluid which draws water back into the capillary
- This is due to osmosis, which is the movement of water from a dilute solution (the tissue fluid) to a solution with a higher solute concentration (the capillary)
- At the arterial end the outward force generated by the high blood pressure is greater than the inward force of the solute gradient so the net movement of water is out of the capillaries into the tissue fluid
- At the venous end the inward force of the solute gradient is greater than the outward force of the blood pressure and fluid moves back into the capillaries
At the arterial end the hydrostatic pressure (blood pressure) has a greater effect than the solute gradient so the tissue fluid is forced out of the capillaries
At the venous end the hydrostatic pressure has less effect than the solute gradient so most of the fluid is drawn back into the capillary
Examiner Tip
Remember that tissue fluid is formed by pressure filtration of plasma in capillaries, which is promoted by the higher blood pressure from arterioles. Lower pressure in venules allows tissue fluid to drain back into capillaries.
Note that the specification does not require knowledge of the effect of solute concentration on tissue fluid, but this has been included here to better explain the draining of tissue fluid at low blood pressure.