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fluid balance  a state in which the volume of body water and its solutes is within normal limits and there is normal distribution of fluids within the intracellular and extracellular compartments. The total weight of body fluids should be about 60 per cent of the body weight, and it should be distributed so that one third is extracellular fluid and two thirds intracellular fluid. Although this distribution remains constant in a healthy individual, there is continuous movement of fluid into and out of the various compartments. Most organs are concerned in some way with the maintenance of fluid balance within the body, but the kidneys are the most important regulators of the constituents of the fluids.




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