Question

When sodium and water intake is less than output, causing isotonic loss, what occurs?

a) Hypertonic Gain
b) Isotonic Gain
c) Hypertonic Loss
d) Isotonic Loss

Answer 1

Isotonic loss occurs when both sodium and water intake are less than their output, resulting in a decrease in extracellular fluid volume but maintaining the same concentration.

Step-by-step explanation:

When sodium and water intake are less than output causing isotonic loss, the condition that occurs is d) Isotonic Loss. During isotonic loss, both the solute (sodium) and the solvent (water) are lost in equal proportions, and this leads to a decrease in the overall quantity of extracellular fluid without changing its concentration. This can lead to conditions like dehydration but does not initially change the tonicity of the internal environment. The kidneys and other organ systems often work to prevent this from happening by conserving water and sodium to maintain homeostasis.