Body Water

In physiology, body water is the water content of the human body. A significant fraction of the human body is water.

Arthur Guyton 's Textbook of Medical Physiology states that "the total amount of water in a man of average weight (70 kilograms) is approximately 40 litres, averaging 57 percent of his total body weight. In a newborn infant, this may be as high as 75 percent of the body weight, but it progressively decreases from birth to old age, most of the decrease occurring during the first 10 years of life. Also, obesity decreases the percentage of water in the body, sometimes to as low as 45 percent". These figures are statistical averages, so are illustrative, and like all biostatistics, will vary with things like type of population, age and number of people sampled, and methodology. So there is not, and cannot be, a figure that is exactly the same for all people, for this or any other physiological measure. For example, Jackson's (1985) Anatomy & Physiology for Nurses gives a figure of 60% for the proportion of body-weight attributable to water, which approximates Guyton's 57%.

In diseased states where body water is affected, the compartment or compartments that have changed can give clues to the nature of the problem. Body water is regulated by hormones, including anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide.

Per Netter's Atlas of Human Physiology, body water is broken down into the following compartments:

• Intracellular fluid (2/3 of body water). Per Guyton, in a body containing 40 litres of fluid, about 25 litres is intracellular, which amounts to 62.5% (5/8), close enough to the 2/3 rule of thumb. Jackson's texts states 70% of body fluid is intracellular.
• Extracellular fluid (1/3 of body water). Per Guyton's illustration, for a 40 litre body, about 15 litres is extracellular, which amounts to 37.5% Again, this is close to the 1/3 rule of thumb cited here.
  • Plasma (1/5 of extracellular fluid). Per Guyton's illustration, of the 15 litres of extracellular fluid, plasma volume averages 3 litres. This amounts to 20%, the same as per Netter's Atlas.
  • Interstitial fluid (4/5 of extracellular fluid)
  • Transcellular fluid (a.k.a. "third space," normally ignored in calculations)
    • Contained inside organs, such as the gastrointestinal, cerebrospinal, peritoneal, and ocular fluids.