Final answer:
A 5% glucose solution is considered isotonic with body fluids, suitable for intravenous administration. The presence of burst red blood cells in a deceased patient suggests that the supposed isotonic solution was actually hypotonic, leading to cell lysis.
Step-by-step explanation:
A 5% glucose solution would be classified as isotonic with respect to body fluids, meaning it has the same concentration of solutes as the body's own fluids. This type of solution is often used in medical settings when a patient needs intravenous fluids that won't cause a net flow of water into or out of the body's cells, thereby maintaining normal cell volume and function.
If a doctor injected a patient with what was labeled as an isotonic saline solution, but then the patient died, and an autopsy revealed that several of the patient's red blood cells had burst, it would indicate that the solution was not truly isotonic. Instead, it was likely hypotonic, which means the concentration of solutes was lower than that of the body fluids, causing water to flow into the cells and them to swell and eventually burst (lyse). This condition is the opposite of what happens with a hypertonic solution, which causes cells to shrink.