Capillary Fluid Exchange and Edema Tutorial

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1. What physical forces and capillary features regulate transcapillary fluid exchange?
2. How do changes in tissue (interstitial) and plasma hydrostatic and oncotic pressures affect transcapillary fluid movement?
3. How do changes in each of the following affect capillary pressure: arterial and venous pressures, pre- and postcapillary resistances.
4. What determines the rate of fluid movement across capillaries for a given net driving force of hydrostatic and oncotic pressures?
5. Why do changes in venous pressure have a greater affect on capillary pressure than changes in arterial pressure?
6. Why does oncotic pressure (colloid osmotic pressure) rather than total osmotic pressure govern fluid exchange across the capillary?
7. What is the significance of the reflection coefficient for proteins in terms of how it affects the oncotic pressure generated by proteins?
8. How do lymphatics function in the maintenance of interstitial fluid volume?
9. How can changes in capillary hydrostatic pressure, plasma oncotic pressure, capillary permeability, and lymphatic function lead to tissue edema?
10. What can be done to prevent edema or to treat edema once it occurs?

Revised 11/03/06