Acid-Base Disorders.

The body’s ability to maintain acid-base homeostasis is based on a complex set of interactions between the respiratory and metabolic systems. This article reviews normal acid-base physiology and examines disorders of acid-base imbalances, first within a primary metabolic cause and then within a primary respiratory cause. Covering the complex nuances of acid-base control within a limited-scope review article is impossible. Thus, this article focuses on the traditional model based on the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation rather than the strong ion (or Stewart) model, which explores the difference between all the dissociated cations and anions. Using the traditional model, the authors explore the various metabolic and respiratory disturbances while addressing the implications of the anion gap on metabolic acidoses.