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Peritoneal Fluid

  • Chapter
The Peritoneum

Abstract

The peritoneal cavity of the human usually contains 5 to 20 ml of serous exudate which varies widely depending on the physiological condition. In the female, this volume changes during the menstrual cycle to reach maximal levels after ovulation (Figure 2.1; Alfonsin & Leiderman, 1980). When pressure in the hepatic sinusoids rises more than 5 to 10 mm Hg, fluid containing large amounts of protein transudes through the liver surface into the abdominal cavity. Excess fluid in the peritoneal cavity is either a transudate (specific gravity < 1.010), which accumulates (ascites) from peritoneal obstruction or circulatory differences (failure, portal cardiac hypertension, hypofibrinogenemia, etc.), or an exudate (specific gravity > 1.020), which arises from inflammation. The hepatic resistance to portal blood flow induces a capillary pressure in the visceral peritoneum that is higher than elsewhere in the body (Guyton, 1973). The pH of peritoneal fluid ranges between 7.5 and 8.0 and contains significant buffering capacity (Greenwalt, Nakamura, & diZerega, 1988). The pH of peritoneal fluid in aspirates from 59 patients with perforated peptic ulcer was 7.0 to 7.8 (Howard & Singh, 1963). Due to the hydrostatic pressure gradient between plasma and the peritoneal compartment, normal peritoneal fluid also contains many of the plasma proteins in about 50% of the plasma concentration (Rune, 1970a, 1970b, 1970c, 1970d).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine Livingston Research Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Gere S. diZerega M.D. (Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology) & Kathleen E. Rodgers Ph.D. (Assistant Research Professor)

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  1. Gere S. diZerega M.D.
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  2. Kathleen E. Rodgers Ph.D.
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin New York, Inc.

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diZerega, G.S., Rodgers, K.E. (1992). Peritoneal Fluid. In: The Peritoneum. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9235-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9235-4_2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-9237-8

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