REGULATION
The blood has a part in regulating body temperature. The body temperature regulators in the brain are partially influenced by the blood’s temperature when it passes over or through them.
Blood is a fluid component of tissue. The composition of bodily tissue fluid is as uniform as feasible. If an animal becomes dehydrated or has low tissue fluid levels as a result of vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive perspiration, or another pathologic condition that causes fluid loss, some plasma will leave the circulation and enter the body tissues in an attempt to replenish lost fluid. Consequently, the blood has a higher concentration of cells (haemoconcentration) and less plasma. If an animal has too much bodily fluid - for example, after receiving subcutaneous fluids - it will enter the bloodstream. The cell count is diluted, or haemodilution, due to the excess fluid in the plasma. The blood’s acid-base balance (pH) is maintained in part by blood. The normal range of blood pH is 7.35 to 7.45, with 7.4 being the ideal pH (slightly alkaline). The blood must remain within this precise range in order to maintain the animal’s health. The pH needs to remain slightly alkaline in order to buffer the acidic waste products of cellular metabolism that it carries. Arterial blood has a slightly higher alkaline pH than venous blood because venous blood has a lower pH and carries most of the acidic waste products.6.6
Source:
Rana Tanmoy (ed.). Principles of Veterinary Animal Physiology. CRC Press,2026. — 290 p.. 2026
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