What does acidosis mean?
Acidosis is a medical condition in which the body's fluids become too acidic, meaning the pH of the blood falls below its healthy range of roughly 7.35 to 7.45. This can happen either when acids accumulate faster than they can be cleared — as in uncontrolled diabetes, kidney failure, or extreme exercise — or when too much base is lost, for example through prolonged diarrhea. Doctors distinguish metabolic acidosis, arising from chemical processes in tissues, from respiratory acidosis, caused by inadequate removal of carbon dioxide by the lungs. Symptoms can include rapid breathing, confusion, fatigue, and nausea, and severe cases constitute a medical emergency. Because it signals an underlying disorder rather than being a disease in itself, identifying the cause of acidosis is central to diagnosis and treatment. The word appears almost exclusively in clinical literature and professional healthcare settings.
nounAn abnormal condition in which the body's fluids contain an excess of acid, or a loss of base (alkali), causing the blood pH to fall below its normal range. It is a medical term most often used in clinical and physiological contexts.
- A pathological condition in which there is an accumulation of acid or depletion of alkaline reserves in the body fluids, lowering blood pH below normal.
"The patient's uncontrolled diabetes led to severe acidosis, requiring urgent hospital treatment."
"Prolonged intense exercise can produce temporary lactic acidosis in working muscles."
"The laboratory results confirmed metabolic acidosis, prompting immediate correction of the electrolyte imbalance."
Rarely used; the singular normally suffices since the term describes a single pathological state, though the plural may appear when discussing multiple distinct cases or types.
"The textbook chapter reviewed both respiratory and metabolic acidoses in detail."
Your blood fights a constant battle to stay barely alkaline — slip just slightly toward acid, and doctors call it acidosis.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of acidosis
The word acidosis derives from 'acid', ultimately traceable to the Latin 'acidus' meaning sour, combined with the suffix '-osis', borrowed from Greek, which denotes an abnormal condition or disease process. It was coined in the nineteenth century as modern physiology and clinical medicine developed systematic ways of describing disturbances of the body's chemical balance. Its sibling terms include alkalosis, formed with the same '-osis' suffix, and related words such as acidity and acidic, all sharing the Latin root.
How acidosis is actually used
Acidosis is a technical medical term used almost exclusively in clinical, veterinary, and physiological contexts; it is rarely encountered in everyday conversation. Clinicians typically specify the type — metabolic, respiratory, lactic, or renal tubular — since the classification guides treatment. The plural form is uncommon because the word usually denotes a single pathological state at a time.
Easily confused with acidosis
Acidemia refers specifically to a low pH of the blood itself, whereas acidosis is the broader underlying process or condition that may cause it.
Alkalosis is the opposite condition — an excess of base that raises blood pH — while acidosis involves excess acid lowering pH.