Which fluid serves as the extracellular vehicle that surrounds tissue cells and enables nutrient exchange?

Which fluid serves as the extracellular vehicle that surrounds tissue cells and enables nutrient exchange?

• A. Lymph
• B. Cerebrospinal fluid
• C. Interstitial fluid
• D. Plasma

Answer: (C)

Interstitial fluid is the extracellular fluid that surrounds tissue cells, filling the spaces between cells and capillaries. It acts as the immediate medium through which nutrients, oxygen, and hormones pass from blood vessels to cells, and wastes and carbon dioxide move from cells back into the bloodstream. This exchange occurs as fluid filters across capillary walls driven by hydrostatic and osmotic pressures, with interstitial fluid continually balancing the needs of cells and the vascular system. Lymph comes from this fluid when a portion enters lymphatic capillaries; plasma remains inside blood vessels, and cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Thus, the fluid surrounding tissue cells that enables nutrient exchange is interstitial fluid.

Interstitial fluid is the extracellular fluid that surrounds tissue cells, filling the spaces between cells and capillaries. It acts as the immediate medium through which nutrients, oxygen, and hormones pass from blood vessels to cells, and wastes and carbon dioxide move from cells back into the bloodstream. This exchange occurs as fluid filters across capillary walls driven by hydrostatic and osmotic pressures, with interstitial fluid continually balancing the needs of cells and the vascular system. Lymph comes from this fluid when a portion enters lymphatic capillaries; plasma remains inside blood vessels, and cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Thus, the fluid surrounding tissue cells that enables nutrient exchange is interstitial fluid.