Question

Using the process of diffusion, what happens when a person in a hospital is given fluid in an IV, and the fluid is typically a saline solution with about the same water concentration as human body tissue? Explain how the use of distilled water in place of the saline solution would be expected to upset the patient's homeostasis.

a) The fluid diffuses into the cells, maintaining equilibrium.
b) The fluid diffuses out of the cells, maintaining equilibrium.
c) The fluid diffuses into the cells, disrupting equilibrium.
d) The fluid diffuses out of the cells, disrupting equilibrium.

Answer 1

An isotonic saline solution maintains equilibrium when administered via IV, whereas distilled water is hypotonic and could disrupt homeostasis by causing cells to swell or burst.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a person in a hospital is given fluid in an IV, and the fluid is typically a saline solution with about the same water concentration as human body tissue, the effect is that the fluid diffuses into and out of the cells at an equal rate, maintaining an equilibrium. This is because the solution is isotonic to the cells. In contrast, the use of distilled water, which is a hypotonic solution (having a lower concentration of solutes), would likely cause water to move into the cells to equalize solute concentration. This influx of water into the cells could result in the cells swelling and potentially bursting, thereby disrupting the body's homeostasis.

If we apply this concept to the provided options, the correct answer would be (a) The fluid diffuses into the cells, maintaining equilibrium, when considering the saline solution. However, if distilled water were used, the correct answer changes to (c) The fluid diffuses into the cells, disrupting equilibrium.