metabolic acidosis
Meaning of metabolic acidosis: Metabolic acidosis is a drop in blood pH caused by excess acid production or loss of the body's bicarbonate buffer.
Definition of metabolic acidosis
Metabolic acidosis is a condition in which the blood becomes more acidic than normal because of a problem with the body's metabolism rather than with breathing. It can result from the body producing too much acid, as occurs in severe infection, shock, or uncontrolled diabetes, from the kidneys failing to excrete acid normally, or from excessive loss of bicarbonate, the body's main acid buffering substance, such as through prolonged diarrhea.
The body normally keeps blood acidity within a narrow range using bicarbonate and other buffering systems, along with the lungs' ability to adjust breathing and the kidneys' ability to adjust acid excretion. Metabolic acidosis develops when acid production or loss of bicarbonate overwhelms these compensating mechanisms.
Because metabolic acidosis can arise from such different underlying processes, identifying the specific cause, whether it involves excess acid production, impaired kidney excretion, or bicarbonate loss, generally guides how the underlying condition is addressed.
Used in a sentence
Laboratory results showed metabolic acidosis in the setting of the patient's severe diarrhea.
Good to know
Metabolic acidosis is distinguished from respiratory acidosis, which results from impaired breathing and reduced elimination of carbon dioxide rather than from a metabolic process.
Word origin
Where “metabolic acidosis” comes from
Formed from Latin acidus, meaning sour or acidic, combined with the Greek suffix -osis, denoting a condition or process.