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Human blood is 90% water and 10% solute. What would happen if you gave

a patient an IV of pure water (0% solute)? The patient's cells will

remain unchanged.

swell or lyse.

shrivel.

User Rposky
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1 Answer

8 votes

Answer:

When a person receives fluids intravenously (through an IV bag, for example), a saline solution is sometime used. Giving large amounts of pure water directly into a vein would cause your blood cells to become hypotonic, possibly leading to death.

Step-by-step explanation:

The answer is B: It swells.

A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solutes than another solution. In biology, a solution outside of a cell is called hypotonic if it has a lower concentration of solutes relative to the cytosol. Due to osmotic pressure, water diffuses into the cell, and the cell often appears turgid, or bloated.

User Dmontaner
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