Chlorides

CHLORIDES, inorganic compounds of chlorine. In human blood and urine, chlorine is bound mainly to Na, therefore the content of chlorides is usually expressed as NaCl. Sodium chloride is the most important constituent of blood and body fluids. Its amount in plasma is a decisive factor in creating the osmotic pressure in which all cells of the body exist. Chlorides enter the body with food and are excreted mainly by the kidneys and partly by the intestines. The daily excretion of chlorides in urine is 10-15 g. It is known that with a plant-based diet, there is increased excretion of chlorides, whereas with a meat diet, the content of chlorides in urine is minimal. In connection with this, the need for sodium chloride with a plant-based diet is significantly greater than with a meat diet. The excretion of chlorides in urine is not uniform throughout the day. Immediately after eating, the excretion of chlorides in urine increases, only to decrease quite rapidly and remain at low figures during digestion, during which chlorine is consumed by the stomach glands for the formation of hydrochloric acid. Any increase in diuresis leads to an increase in the excretion of chlorides. In all febrile states, the content of chlorides in the urine decreases. The most sharp decrease in urinary chlorides occurs in lobar pneumonia, in which this fact has some diagnostic significance. During the period of resolution of the infection, simultaneously with an increase in diuresis, a sharp increase in urinary chlorides is observed. In cases where there is a loss of chlorides by the body through the skin with sweat or through the intestines with feces, the content of chlorides in the urine decreases sharply. This dependence between the excretion of chlorides via various pathways is clearly visible from the table borrowed from Slovtsov: under normal conditions (intake 20.0, sweat 1.6, feces 0.4, urine 18.0), during dysentery (intake 20.0, sweat 1.6, feces 6.0, urine 13.6), and during heavy sweating (intake 20.0, sweat 6.0, feces 0.4, urine 13.6). With the complete cessation of sodium chloride intake into the body, the excretion of chlorides quickly drops to minimal values (0.58, 0.85), at which it remains for a long time. Retention of chlorides in the body is observed during the formation of exudates and transudates, as well as during the development of edema. During the period of resorption of exudates or transudates, as well as during the period of subsidence of edema, the amount of urinary chlorides increases sharply simultaneously with an increase in diuresis. Regarding chlorides in the blood, see Chloremia.