Living Systems
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pH in living systems Compartment pH Gastric acid 1 Lysosomes 4.5 Granules of chromaffin cells 5.5 Human skin 5.5 Urine 6.0 Pure H2O at 37 °C 6.81 Cytosol 7.2 Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 7.5 Blood 7.34–7.45 Mitochondrial matrix 7.5 Pancreas secretions 8.1
The pH of different cellular compartments, body fluids, and organs is usually tightly regulated in a process called acid-base homeostasis. The most common disorder in acid-base homeostasis is acidosis, which means an acid overload in the body, generally defined by pH falling below 7.35.* Alkalosis is the opposite condition, with blood pH being excessively high.
The pH of blood is usually slightly basic with a value of pH 7.365. This value is often referred to as physiological pH in biology and medicine. Plaque can create a local acidic environment that can result in tooth decay by demineralization. Enzymes and other proteins have an optimum pH range and can become inactivated or denatured outside this range.
Read more about this topic: Negative P H, Applications
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