Bodily fluid
Encyclopedia
Body fluid or bodily fluids are liquid
s originating from inside the bodies of living people
. They include fluids that are excreted
or secreted
from the body as well as body water
that normally is not.
Body fluids include:
, and personal hygiene
practices treat body fluids as potentially unclean. This is because they can be vectors for infectious diseases, such as sexually transmitted disease
s or blood-borne disease
s. Universal precautions
and safer sex practices try to avoid exchanges of body fluids. Body fluids can be analysed in medical laboratory
in order to find microbes, inflammation, cancers, etc.
of body fluids include:
is to use body fluids in art, though there have been rarer uses of blood (and perhaps feces) for quite some time, and Marcel Duchamp
used semen
decades ago. Examples include:
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
s originating from inside the bodies of living people
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
. They include fluids that are excreted
Excretion
Excretion is the process by which waste products of metabolism and other non-useful materials are eliminated from an organism. This is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substance may have specific tasks after leaving the cell...
or secreted
Secretion
Secretion is the process of elaborating, releasing, and oozing chemicals, or a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast to excretion, the substance may have a certain function, rather than being a waste product...
from the body as well as body water
Body water
In medicine, body water is the water content of the human body. A significant fraction of the human body is water. Arthur Guyton 's Textbook of Medical Physiology states that "the total amount of water in a man of average weight is approximately 40 litres, averaging 57 percent of his total body...
that normally is not.
Body fluids include:
Body fluids and health
Body fluid is the term most often used in medical and health contexts. Modern medical, public healthPublic health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, and personal hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
practices treat body fluids as potentially unclean. This is because they can be vectors for infectious diseases, such as sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s or blood-borne disease
Blood-borne disease
A blood-borne disease is one that can be spread through contamination by blood.The most common examples are HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and viral hemorrhagic fevers....
s. Universal precautions
Universal precautions
Universal precautions refers to the practice, in medicine, of avoiding contact with patients' bodily fluids, by means of the wearing of nonporous articles such as medical gloves, goggles, and face shields. The practice was introduced in 1985–88. In 1987, the practice of universal precautions was...
and safer sex practices try to avoid exchanges of body fluids. Body fluids can be analysed in medical laboratory
Medical laboratory
A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are done on clinical specimens in order to get information about the health of a patient as pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.-Departments:...
in order to find microbes, inflammation, cancers, etc.
Sampling
Methods of samplingSampling (medicine)
In medicine, sampling is gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures...
of body fluids include:
- Blood sampling for any blood testBlood testA blood test is a laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample that is usually extracted from a vein in the arm using a needle, or via fingerprick....
, in turn including:- ArterialArteryArteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....
blood sampling, such as radial artery punctureRadial artery punctureRadial artery puncture is a medical procedure that is performed in order to obtain arterial blood sampling for gas analysis. A needle is inserted into the radial artery and spontaneously fills with blood... - Venous blood sampling, also called venipunctureVenipunctureIn medicine, venepuncture, venopuncture or venipuncture is the process of obtaining intravenous access for the purpose of intravenous therapy or for blood sampling of venous blood. This procedure is performed by medical laboratory scientists, medical practitioners, some EMTs, paramedics,...
- Arterial
- Lumbar punctureLumbar punctureA lumbar puncture is a diagnostic and at times therapeutic procedure that is performed in order to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid for biochemical, microbiological, and cytological analysis, or very rarely as a treatment to relieve increased intracranial pressure.-Indications:The...
to sample cerebrospinal fluidCerebrospinal fluidCerebrospinal fluid , Liquor cerebrospinalis, is a clear, colorless, bodily fluid, that occupies the subarachnoid space and the ventricular system around and inside the brain and spinal cord... - Thoracocentesis to sample pleural fluid
- AmniocentesisAmniocentesisAmniocentesis is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections, in which a small amount of amniotic fluid, which contains fetal tissues, is sampled from the amnion or amniotic sac surrounding a developing fetus, and the fetal DNA is examined for...
to sample amniotic fluidAmniotic fluidAmniotic fluid or liquor amnii is the nourishing and protecting liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a pregnant woman.- Development of amniotic fluid :...
Bodily fluids in religion and history
Many bodily fluids are regarded with varying levels of disgust among world cultures, including the Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) and Hinduism.Body fluids in art
A relatively new trend in contemporary artContemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
is to use body fluids in art, though there have been rarer uses of blood (and perhaps feces) for quite some time, and Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
used semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
decades ago. Examples include:
- The controversial Piss ChristPiss ChristPiss Christ is a 1987 photograph by artist and photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine...
(1987), by Andres SerranoAndres SerranoAndres Serrano is an American photographer and artist who has become notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of feces and bodily fluids in his work, notably his controversial work "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported...
, which is a photographPhotographA photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
of a crucifixCrucifixA crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
submerged in urineUrineUrine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
; - Self (1991, recast 1996) by Marc QuinnMarc QuinnMarc Quinn is a British artist and part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs . He is known for Alison Lapper Pregnant , Self , and Garden .He is one of the Young British...
, a frozen cast of the artist's head made entirely of his own bloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
; - Piss Flowers, by Helen ChadwickHelen ChadwickHelen Chadwick was a British conceptual artist.-Life and work:Chadwick studied at Croydon College of Art, The Faculty of Arts and Architecture Brighton Polytechnic and then at the Chelsea School of Art....
(1991-92), are twelve white-enameled bronzes cast from cavities made by urinating in snow (though this might not be characterized as the use of bodily fluids in art, just their use in preparation); - performances by Lennie LeeLennie LeeLennie Lee is a South African conceptual artist who lives and works in London.-Life and career:Lennie Lee is a British artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He moved to the UK in 1960. He was educated at Dulwich college in London before winning a scholarship to study philosophy at Christ...
involving feces, blood, vomit from 1990 - many paintings by Chris OfiliChris OfiliChris Ofili is a Turner Prize winning British painter best known for artworks referencing aspects of his Nigerian heritage, particularly his incorporation of elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists, and is now based in Trinidad.-Early life:Ofilli was born in Manchester. He had a...
, which make use of elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
dungFecesFeces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
(from 1992). - Gilbert and GeorgeGilbert and GeorgeGilbert & George are two artists who work together as a collaborative duo. Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have become famous for their distinctive, highly formal appearance and manner and their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.-Early life:Gilbert Proesch was...
's The Naked Shit Pictures (1995) - Hermann NitschHermann NitschHermann Nitsch is an Austrian artist who works in experimental and multimedia modes.Born in Vienna, Nitsch received training in painting during the time he studied at the Wiener Graphische Lehr-und Versuchanstalt. He is called an "actionist" or a performance artist...
and Das Orgien Mysterien Theatre use urine, feces, blood and more in their ritual performances. - Franko BFranko BFranko B is a London-based performance artist. He studied fine art in London at Camberwell College of Arts and Chelsea College of Art . His work was originally based on the bloody and ritualised violation of his own body...
from 1990 blood letting performances. - The cover of the Metallica'sMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
album LoadLoad (album)Load is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on June 4, 1996 through Elektra Records, it sold 680,000 units in its first week and debuted at #1 on Billboard 200. The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and is certified 5x platinum by the RIAA...
is an original artwork entitled "Semen and Blood III", one of three photographic studies by Andres SerranoAndres SerranoAndres Serrano is an American photographer and artist who has become notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of feces and bodily fluids in his work, notably his controversial work "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported...
created in 1990 by mingling the artist's own semenSemenSemen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
and bovineBovinaeThe biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, the bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes...
bloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
between two sheets of Plexiglas.
Body fluids in forensic science
The term body fluid is used in a forensic science context to refer to items of biological evidence. The term is a historical one whose meaning has been expanded due to the discovery of the evidential significance of various biological materials. Body fluid therefore refers to not only to typical body liquids such as blood or semen, but to any item of trace evidence with a biological origin, including hair, bone, teeth, faeces and skin or muscle tissue.See also
- Clinical pathologyClinical pathologyClinical pathology , Laboratory Medicine , Clinical analysis or Clinical/Medical Biology , is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids, such as...
- HygieneHygieneHygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
- Ritual cleanliness
- Blood-borne diseaseBlood-borne diseaseA blood-borne disease is one that can be spread through contamination by blood.The most common examples are HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and viral hemorrhagic fevers....
s - Fluid bonding, unprotected sex in long-term relationships