Body fluid

Bodily fluids listed below are found in the bodies of men and/or women. Some may be found in animals as well. They include fluids that are excretedor secretedfrom the body as well as fluids that normally are not. These respective fluids would include:

• Amniotic fluidsurrounding a fetus(which is released to the outside world in childbirth)
• Aqueous humour
• Bile
• Bloodand blood plasma
• Cerumenalso ear wax
• Cowper's fluidor pre-ejaculatory fluid
• Chyle
• Chyme
• Female ejaculate
• Interstitial fluid
• Lymph
• Menses
• Milk
• Mucus(including snot and phlegm)
• Pleural fluid
• Pus
• Saliva
• Sebum(skin oil)
• Semen
• Serum
• Sweat
• Tears
• Urine
• Vaginal lubrication
• Vomit

Feces, while not generally classed as a body fluid, are often treated similarly to body fluids, and are sometimes fluid or semi-fluid in nature.

Internal body fluids, which are not usually leaked or excreted to the outside world, include:

• cerebrospinal fluidsurrounding the brain and the spinal cord
• synovial fluidsurrounding bone joints
• intracellular fluidis the fluid inside cells
• blood

Bodily fluids in religion and history

Bodily fluids are regarded with varying levels of disgust among Western cultures, as well as many Middle Eastern cultures; the perception is that bodily fluids are unclean (which is not strictly true as urine is in most cases completely sterileuntil it exits the body). These perceptions are due largely to the influence of Judaismand the teachings of the Old Testamentor Torah, and were carried over into Christianityand Islam, who regard these same writings as sacred.

Other religionsdo not share such beliefs. Some sects of Hinduregularly ingest their own urine for health reasons. Hindus, Khoikhoi, and Dinkassmear themselves with dung or dung ashes to atone. Persiansonce atoned by drinking cow urine.

Feces and urine have been used by religions on every continent for atonement, rites of passage, and funerary rites.

Attitudes concerning bodily fluids aside, there is a long human history of their use in religion, medicine, art, sex, and folklore. Some believe that the tradition of shaking hands with the right hand stems from using the left hand to clean up after defecation, as a result, shaking hands with the left hand is considered insulting in many cultures.

Body fluids and health

Modern medical hygieneand public healthpractices also treat body fluids as unclean. This is because they can be vectorsfor infectious diseases, such as sexually transmitted diseasesor blood-borne diseases.

Safer sexpractices try to avoid exchanges of body fluids which may risk infection.

See also

• Hygiene
• Ritual cleanliness
• Blood-borne diseases
• Barrier nursing

Reference

• Paul Spinrad. (1999) The RE/Search Guide to Bodily Fluids. Juno Books. ISBN 1890451045
• John Bourke. (1891) Scatologic Rites of All Nations. Washington, D.C.: W.H. Lowdermilk.sv:Kroppsvätska

fr:Liquide sanguin

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body+fluid Wikipedia article Body fluid.