Acidosis is an abnormal or pathologic condition caused by an imbalance in the acid-base equilibrium of the body. The body does not maintain an exactly neutral pH of 7, but rather a blood serum ph of 7.3-7.5. Accordingly, a pH of 7.293--although in strict terms an alkaline pH--is for the body an acidic rather than an alkaline state.

Acidosis is indicated by a lowering of blood pH that corresponds to an elevated hydrogen ion concentration in reaction to depletion in the normally counterbalancing alkaline sodium bicarbonate levels found in tissues and plasma. The depletion of neutralizing alkaline agents may result from a disruption or failure in the acid basis chemical buffers that maintain pH levels within a small and normal range of variation.

With regard to acid-base imbalance, the opposite end of the disease spectrum is characterized by alkalosis.

Many systems can become acidiotic. Diabetic acidosis results from a...