Acidic Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Acidic and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| What affect may bacterial contamination have on urine pH? | View Page |
| Acid and alkaline urine pH Reasons for acidic urine pH include: a high-meat diet, respiratory/metabolic acidosis, and hypochloridemia. A urine with a high concentration of glucose may also have a lower pH. An alkaline pH may be the result of a vegetarian diet, respiratory/metabolic alkalosis, or a bacterial infection caused by urease-producing bacteria. Urine that contains bacteria can become more alkaline if the specimen remains at room temperature for an extended period of time. | View Page |
| A urine specimen was collected at 6:00 A.M. and remained at room temperature until it was received in the laboratory at 3:30 P.M. How may the pH of the specimen be affected by the extended time at room temperature if bacteria are present in the specimen? | View Page |
| Measuring Specific Gravity The reagent strip measures specific gravity in increments of 0.005 with readings from 1.000 to 1.035. The test principle is based on a change in pKa (the negative log of the acid disassociation) of certain pretreated electrolytes (methylvinyl ether/maleic anhydride) in relation to ionic concentration of the urine. These electrolytes in the reagent area contain acid groups which disassociate according to the ionic concentration of the specimen. The more ions in the specimen, the more acid groups will become disassociated, releasing hydrogen ions and causing a more acid pH. The reagent area contains a pH indicator (bromthymol blue) which demonstrates the change in pH. The higher the specific gravity of the urine specimen, the more acidic the reagent area will become. The colors of the reagent area will range from deep blue-green in urines of low ionic concentration to green-to-yellow green in urines of increasing ionic concentration, and consequently, higher specific gravity. | View Page |
| Protein Binding Most drugs are bound to proteins when they circulate in the body. Albumin is a major drug-binding protein in serum. Albumin is an alkaline protein, so acidic and neutral drugs primarily bind to it. If albumin binding sites become saturated, acidic and neutral drugs can bind to lipoproteins. Alkaline drugs tend to bind to globulins, particularly to the globulin, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein. Only free, unbound drugs are able to bind drug receptors and have therapeutic effects. An equilibrium exists in the systemic circulation between a free and protein-bound drug and between a free and receptor-bound drug. This is illustrated in the image to the right. | View Page |
| Stomatocytes Stomatocytes are erythrocytes with a slit-like central pallor. Otherwise, they resemble typical RBC's in size and shape. Unless 10% or more of the RBC's are stomatocytes, their presence is probably artifactual. Stomatocytes form at a low blood acidic pH as seen in exposure to cationic detergents, and in patients receiving phenolthiazine. Hereditary stomatocytosis has some resemblance to hereditary spherocytosis, as stomatocytes may develop into spherocytes with further metamorphosis. In hereditary stomatocytosis, mild anemia and findings of on-going hemolysis should be evident if the condition presents as a clinical problem at all. | View Page |
| pH The pH of normal fresh semen is 7.0 or greater. Acid conditions can lead to reduced sperm motility and viability.Secretions of the different glands of the male reproductive tract contain fluids of different pH. The portion of semen that originates in the seminal vesicles is basic, that of the prostate gland is acidic. If the pH is low it could mean that there is an obstruction in the ejaculatory duct below the level of the seminal vesicles or it could signal absence of the vas deferens. Low pH is often associated with low volume since both basic pH and much of semen volume are products of the seminal vesicles. Measuring pH can thus help a clinician determine the cause of azoospermia (absence of sperm in semen).The pH is measured using pH testing strips. A drop of semen is placed on a pH strip and allowed to develop full color. Final color is compared to a standard. For the most accurate results, use test strips with a sensitivity in the basic range, for example from 6.0 to 10.0. | View Page |