Serum chloride

Chloride is an anion in the human body needed for metabolism (the process of turning food into energy).

The amount of serum chloride is carefully controlled by the kidneys.

Also, the chloride-bicarbonate exchanger biological transport protein relies on the chloride ion to increase the blood's capacity of carbon dioxide, in the form of the bicarbonate ion; this is the mechanism underpinning the chloride shift occurring as the blood passes through oxygen-consuming capillary beds.

The normal blood reference range of chloride for adults in most labs is 96 to 106 milliequivalents (mEq) per liter.

A diagnostic test may use a chloridometer to determine the serum chloride level.