salt

(salt)

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SEE: 1. Sodium chloride.
2. Pert. to, containing or treated with salt.
3. To treat with salt or make salty.
4. Any mineral salt or saline mixture used as an aperient or cathartic, e.g., epsom salts or Glauber salt.
5. In chemistry, a compound consisting of a positive ion other than hydrogen and a negative ion other than hydroxyl.
6. A chemical compound resulting from the interaction of an acid and a base.
Salts and water are the inorganic (mineral) constituents of the body. They play specific roles in the functions of cells and are indispensable for life. The principal salts are chlorides, carbonates, bicarbonates, sulfates, and phosphates, combined with sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium.

Salts serve the following roles in the body: maintenance of proper osmotic conditions; maintenance of water balance; regulation of blood volume; maintenance of proper acid-base balance; provision for essential constituents of tissue, esp. of bones and teeth; maintenance of normal irritability of muscle and nerve cells; maintenance of conditions for coagulation of the blood; provision for essential components of certain enzyme systems, respiratory pigments and hormones; and regulation of cell membrane and capillary permeability.
SEE: sodium chloride

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