Electrolyte

Electrolyte
An electrolyte is a substance that will dissociate into ions in solution and acquire the capacity to conduct electricity. The electrolytes include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and phosphate. Informally, called lytes. (The clue to the word electrolyte is in the lyte which comes from the Greek lytos meaning that may be
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1. Any compound that, in solution or in molten form, conducts electricity and is decomposed (electrolyzed) by it. 2. An ionizable substance in solution. [electro- + G. lytos, soluble]
- amphoteric e. an e. that can either give up or take on a hydrogen ion and can thus behave as either an acid or a base. SYN: ampholyte.

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elec·tro·lyte i-'lek-trə-.līt n
1) a nonmetallic electric conductor in which current is carried by the movement of ions
2 a) a substance (as an acid, base, or salt) that when dissolved in a suitable solvent (as water) or when fused becomes an ionic conductor
b) any of the ions (as of sodium, potassium, calcium, or bicarbonate) that in a biological fluid regulate or affect most metabolic processes (as the flow of nutrients into and waste products out of cells) used esp. in biology and biochemistry

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n.
a solution that produces ions (an ion is an atom or group of atoms that conduct electricity); for example, sodium chloride solution consists of free sodium and free chloride ions. In medical usage electrolyte usually means the ion itself; thus the term serum electrolyte level means the concentration of separate ions (sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, etc.) in the circulating blood. Concentrations of various electrolyte levels can be altered by many diseases, in which electrolytes are lost from the body (as in vomiting or diarrhoea) or are not excreted and accumulate (as in renal failure). When electrolyte concentrations are severely diminished they can be corrected by administering the appropriate substance by mouth or by intravenous drip. When excess of an electrolyte exists it may be removed by dialysis or by special resins in the intestine, taken by mouth or by enema. See also anion.

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elec·tro·lyte (e-lekґtro-līt) [electro- + Gr. lytos that may be dissolved] a substance that dissociates into ions when fused or in solution, and thus becomes capable of conducting electricity; an ionic solute.

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*Or an equivalent solution produced by hydrolysis of sucrose.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • électrolyte — [ elɛktrɔlit ] n. m. • 1838; angl. electrolyte (1834); de électro et gr. lutos « soluble » ♦ Chim. Corps qui, à l état soluble, est capable de conduire le courant électrique par le mouvement de ses ions dissociés vers des électrodes de charge… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Electrolyte — Électrolyte Un électrolyte est une substance conductrice, car elle contient des ions mobiles. Il existe des électrolytes liquides et solides. Les électrolytes liquides sont les électrolytes aqueux dans lesquels les ions proviennent d un sel… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Electrolyte — E*lec tro*lyte, n. [Electro + Gr. ? a dissoluble: cf. F. [ e]lectrolyte.] (Physics & Chem.) A compound decomposable, or subjected to decomposition, by an electric current …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Electrolyte — Electrolyte. См. Электролит. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • electrolyte — (n.) substance decomposed by electrolysis, 1834, from ELECTRO (Cf. electro ) + Gk. lytos loosed, from lyein to loose (see LOSE (Cf. lose)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • electrolyte — ► NOUN 1) a liquid or gel which contains ions and can be decomposed by electrolysis, e.g. that present in a battery. 2) Physiology the ionic constituents of cells, blood, etc. ORIGIN from Greek lutos released …   English terms dictionary

  • electrolyte — [ē lek′trō līt΄, ilek′trō līt΄; ē lek′trə līt΄, i lek′trəlīt΄] n. [ ELECTRO + LYTE1] any chemical compound that ionizes when molten or in solution, allowing it to conduct electricity …   English World dictionary

  • Electrolyte — This article is about the ionic solution. For the R.E.M. song, see Electrolite. In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution …   Wikipedia

  • Électrolyte — Un électrolyte est une substance conductrice, car elle contient des ions mobiles. Il existe des électrolytes liquides et solides. Les électrolytes liquides sont les électrolytes aqueux dans lesquels les ions proviennent d un sel soluble et les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • electrolyte — n. a solution that produces ions (an ion is an atom or group of atoms that conduct electricity); for example, sodium chloride solution consists of free sodium and free chloride ions. In medical usage electrolyte usually means the ion itself; thus …   The new mediacal dictionary

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