Figure 1

Winters diagram with the subdivision of total body water, intracellular fluid and extracellular fluid as a function of age. For clinical purpose the use of "the rule of 3" is recommended: 1. total body water makes up 2/3 of the body mass; 2. the intracellular compartment contains 2/3 of the total body water and the remaining (= 1/3) is held in the extracellular compartment; 3. the extracellular compartment is further subdivided into the interstitial and the intravascular compartments (blood volume), which contain 2/3 and 1/3 of the extracellular fluid, respectively. After puberty males generally have 2 to 10 percent higher water content than females.