How does the body adjust to maintain a stable pH of blood?
1 Answer
May 13, 2016
The bicarbonate buffer system does play a big part in maintaining a stable pH, but your lungs and kidneys also play a major part. Your kidneys regularly filter out H+ ions from your blood so they don't build up and cause your blood pH level to fall.
However, this is something that occurs slowly. Breathing causes the expulsion of CO2 which reduces the amount of hydrogen ions (the pH), so when your blood acidity rises, your body breathes faster to try to reduce it.
