The management of fluid leakage in grossly oedematous legs.
Oedema occurs when there is an abnormal amount of fluid in the interstitial space. Normally about 85 per cent of the fluid that is filtered out of capillaries into this space is reabsorbed; the rest is drained by the lymphatic system (Tortora and Grabowski, 2000). A rise in capillary blood pressure causes increased quantities of fluid to escape from capillaries. As a result, filtration of fluid into the tissues exceeds the reabsorption rate of fluid into the circulation, leading to oedema (Tortora and Grabowski, 2000) (Fig 1).
Anderson
Irene
I
University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield.
D001458:Bandages; D002199:Capillary Permeability / Q000502:physiology; D004232:Diuretics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004487:Edema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg
D004232:Diuretics