Question

What causes the clinical manifestations of confusion, convulsions, cerebral hemorrhage, and coma in hypernatremia?

a. High sodium in the blood vessels pulls water out of the brain cells into the blood vessels, causing brain cells to shrink.
b. High sodium in the brain cells pulls water out of the blood vessels into the brain cells, causing them to swell.
c. High sodium in the blood vessels pulls potassium out of the brain cells, which slows the synapses in the brain.
d. High sodium in the blood vessels draws chloride into the brain cells followed by water, causing the brain cells to swell.

Answer 1

High sodium in the blood vessels pulls water out of the brain cells into the blood vessels, causing brain cells to shrink (option a). This leads to confusion, convulsions, cerebral hemorrhage, and coma in hypernatremia.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is option a. High sodium in the blood vessels pulls water out of the brain cells into the blood vessels, causing brain cells to shrink. This process is known as osmosis.

In hypernatremia, there is an abnormal increase in blood sodium levels. The high concentration of sodium in the blood vessels creates a concentration gradient, which causes water to leave the brain cells and enter the blood vessels to try to equalize the solute concentration. As a result, the brain cells shrink, leading to clinical manifestations such as confusion, convulsions, cerebral hemorrhage, and coma.

For example, if you have a high concentration of sugar in a glass of water and add a drop of water to the sugar, the
water will move into the sugar to try to dilute it. Similarly, in hypernatremia, the high concentration of sodium in the blood vessels pulls water out of the brain cells into the blood vessels, causing them to shrink.