The bicarbonate system helps maintain homeostasis by using buffers to regulate the pH of the blood.

Homeostasis can be defined as the regulation and maintenance of chemical composition both inside and outside the cell. This maintenance of chemicals helps regulate the pH of the blood in the human body because if the pH goes below 6.8 or above 7.8, there is a possibility of death. The ideal pH of 7.4 is maintained through the help of buffers in the blood whose job is to resist against large changes of pH. The carbonic acid/ bicarbonate buffer system consists of two equilibrium reactions: the disassociation of carbonic acid with water and bicarbonate, coupled with carbon dioxide. The pH of the blood is controlled by the ratio of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate ions. The ratio of acid- base concentrations are relatively proportional because when protons are added, the base converts to the acid component and when hydroxide ions are added, the acid molecules convert to the base component. Because of this system, the change in pH is very small. During exercise, the concentration of protons and carbon dioxide are increased by the breakdown of glucose (glycolysis), which is used in the production of mechanical energy. Chemical changes in the blood are caused by the production and removal of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, with oxygen. When the body system is stressed, acidosis can occur, which is when the pH of the blood is too low. This is harmful to the body because most chemical reactions depend on the pH of the blood. When stress such as acidosis occurs, other organs such as the lungs and kidney jump in to help control the amounts of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate ions in the blood. The lungs remove any excess carbon dioxide, which raises the pH of the blood, and the kidneys remove excess bicarbonate ions, which lowers the pH. Some other pathways that the body utilizes to remove excess protons, carbon dioxide or bicarbonate ions from the blood are the phosphate buffer and hemoglobin. In the phosphate buffer, phosphoric acid is in equilibrium with dihydrogen phosphate and hydrogen ions and helps maintain the pH of the blood. This kind of buffer only has a minor role in homeostasis because phosphoric acid and dihydrogen phosphate are found in low concentrations in the blood. Hemoglobin can bind to either hydrogen or oxygen ions, and when one is bound, the other is released. This is very helpful in the maintenance of pH during exercise because hemoglobin binds some of the excess protons generated by muscles while oxygen is released. In general, the bicarbonate system is vital to the human body because without homeostasis, death may occur.