BIOCHEMISTRY in Questions and Answers - Alimov A.M. - 2016
SECTION 10. WATER-SALT METABOLISM
Question 1. What is the Biological Role of Water in the body?
Answer: Water performs A number of vital Functions. It ensures the absorption and transport of nutrients and Metabolic waste products, serves as a universal solvent, and participates in osmosis, Hydration, hydrolytic Cleavage, Biosynthesis, and Enzymatic Catalysis, among other processes.
Question 2. In what forms does water exist in the body?
Answer: In Organs, Tissues, and Cells, water exists in free, hydration, and bound (immobilized) forms.
Question 3. Where is free water located, and what is its biological significance?
Answer: Free water is found in Blood Plasma, Lymph, CEREBROSPINAL FLUID, digestive juices, and urine. It is involved in delivering nutrients and removing metabolic waste products from the body.
Question 4. What is meant by hydration water?
Answer: Water bound to inorganic ions and Proteins is referred to as hydration water.
Question 5. What are The properties of bound water?
Answer: Bound water is incapable of free movement. Part of it is localized within supramolecular structures (membranes, Organelles, fibrillar aggregates). Bound water freezes at temperatures below 0 °C, dissolves many substances, and readily participates in metabolic reactions. A dynamic equilibrium exists between the Various Forms of water. The water content in tissues increases in Kidney diseases, cardiovascular disorders, protein malnutrition, and Liver cirrhosis.
Question 6. Which elements are classified as macroelements?
Answer: If the mass fraction of an element in the body exceeds 10-2%, it is considered a macroelement. They are present in quantities measured in hundreds and tens of milligrams per 100 g of tissue. These include potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, chlorine, and sulfur.
Question 7. Which elements are classified as microelements (Trace Elements)?
Answer: If the mass fraction of an element in the body is 10" % or less, it is considered a microelement. They are present in quantities expressed in tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a milligram per 100 g of tissue and are essential for normal vital activity.
Question 8. Into what groups are microelements divided according to their significance for the body?
Answer: Microelements are conventionally divided into two groups: essential or vitally necessary (cobalt, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, iodine, bromine, selenium, fluorine) and so-called probably necessary elements (aluminum, strontium, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, and certain others).
Question 9. Why are microelements called essential?
Answer. Microelements are termed essential if their absence or deficiency disrupts the normal functioning of the Organism.
Question 10. Which elements are classified as organogens (organogenic elements)?
Answer: Organogenic elements include carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. They account for 97.3–97.4% (by mass) of animal and plant organisms. These elements have The ability to form various types of bonds, providing The Diversity of Biomolecules operating in living organisms.
Question 11. What is the Role of Metal ions in the body?
Answer: Metal Ions act as complexing agents and are constituents of Enzymes, serving as Coenzymes or Cofactors.
Question 12. What is The Role of Mineral Substances in the body?
Answer: They are involved in maintaining a specific Osmotic Pressure of blood plasma, acid-base balance, membrane permeability, Introduction/15.html">Regulation of enzyme Activity, preservation of biomolecule Structure, and Maintenance of the motor and secretory Functions of the digestive tract.
Last update: 06/08/2026
Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.
What was processed:
- elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
- editorial organization of content;
- standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
- verification of factual statements against the original source text.
All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.