Ringer's solution is a solution of several salts dissolved in water for the purpose of creating an isotonic solution relative to the body fluids of an animal. Ringer's solution typically contains

sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as Salt#Edible salt, edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs a ...

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a sa ...

calcium chloride Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a Salt (chemistry), salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with cal ...

and

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

, with the last used to buffer the pH. Other additions can include chemical fuel sources for cells, including ATP and

dextrose Glucose is a sugar with the molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water an ...

, as well as antibiotics and antifungals.

Composition

Ringer's solution typically contains

NaCl Sodium chloride , commonly known as edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs as the mineral hali ...

KCl KCL or KCl may refer to: Science and technology * Potassium chloride (KCl), a metal halide salt * Keycode lookup, keycode log, or keycode list * Kirchhoff's current law, in physics * Kyoto Common Lisp, an implementation of Common Lisp Other uses ...

, CaCl₂ and NaHCO₃, sometimes with other minerals such as MgCl₂, dissolved in

distilled water Distilled water is water that has been purified by boiling it into vapor then condensing it back into liquid in a separate container. Impurities in the original water that do not boil below or near the boiling point of water remain in the origin ...

. The precise proportions of these vary from species to species, particularly between marine

osmoconformer Osmoconformers are marine organisms that maintain an internal environment which is isotonic to their external environment. This means that the osmotic pressure of the organism's cells is equal to the osmotic pressure of their surrounding environm ...

s and

osmoregulator Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's body fluids, detected by osmoreceptors, to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is, it maintains the fluid balance and the concentration of ...

Uses

Ringer's solution is frequently administered to human and veterinary patients for intravenous or subcutaneous hydration and to expand the vascular compartment in hypovolemia. It is also use in ''in vitro'' experiments on organs or tissues, such as ''in vitro'' muscle testing. The precise mix of ions can vary depending upon the taxon, with different recipes for birds, mammals, freshwater fish, marine fish, etc. Ringers solution may also be used for therapeutic purposes, such as

arthroscopic lavage Arthroscopic lavage is the washing out or cleaning out the contents (blood, fluid or loose debris) inside a joint space. Lavage is a general term referring to the therapeutic washing, cleaning or rinsing. Medical uses Excessive growth of irritated ...

in the case of

septic arthritis Acute septic arthritis, infectious arthritis, suppurative arthritis, pyogenic arthritis, osteomyelitis, or joint infection is the invasion of a joint by an infectious agent resulting in joint inflammation. Generally speaking, symptoms typica ...

. It is used clinically as an

intravenous infusion Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutr ...

for replacing

extracellular fluid In cell biology, extracellular fluid (ECF) denotes all body fluid outside the cells of any multicellular organism. Total body water in healthy adults is about 50–60% (range 45 to 75%) of total body weight; women and the obese typically ha ...

losses and restoring chemical balances when treating isotonic

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...

History

Ringer's solution is named after

Sydney Ringer Sydney Ringer FRS (March 1835 – 14 October 1910) was a British clinician, physiologist and pharmacologist, best known for inventing Ringer's solution. He was born in 1835 in Norwich, England and died following a stroke in 1910 in Lastingham, ...

, who in 1882–1885 determined that a solution perfusing a frog's heart must contain sodium, potassium and calcium salts in a definite proportion if the heart is to be kept beating for long. This solution was adjusted further in the 1930s by

Alexis Hartmann Alexis Frank Hartmann Sr. (October 30, 1898 – September 6, 1964) was an American pediatrician and clinical biochemist. He is best known for adding sodium lactate to Ringer's solution, creating what is now known as Ringer's lactate solution ...

, who added

sodium lactate Sodium lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid, and has a mild saline taste. It is produced by fermentation of a sugar source, such as maize or beets, and then, by neutralizing the resulting lactic acid to create a compound having the formul ...

to form

Ringer's lactate solution Ringer's lactate solution (RL), also known as sodium lactate solution, Lactated Ringer's (LR), and Hartmann's solution, is a mixture of sodium chloride, sodium lactate, potassium chloride, and calcium chloride in water. It is used for replaci ...

.{{cite book, last1=Marino, first1=Paul L., last2=Sutin, first2=Kenneth M., title=The ICU Book, date=2012, publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, isbn=9781451161557, page=363, edition=3, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAk9ai42yjMC&pg=PT363, language=en

References

Buffer solutions Intravenous fluids