For acidosis referring to acidity of the urine, see
renal tubular acidosis. Acidosis is an increased
acidity (i.e. an increased
hydrogen ion concentration). If not further qualified, it refers to acidity of the
blood plasma. Generally, acidosis is said to occur when arterial
pH falls below 7.35, while its counterpart (
alkalosis) occurs at a pH over 7.45.
Arterial blood gas analysis and other tests are required to separate the main causes.Strictly speaking, the term acidemia would be more appropriate to describe the state of low blood pH, reserving acidosis to describe the processes leading to these states. Nevertheless, most physicians use the terms interchangeably. The distinction may be relevant where a patient has factors causing both acidosis and alkalosis, where the relative severity of both determines whether the result is a high or a low pH.
See more at Wikipedia.org...