Question

Hospital patients often receive medications, nutrients, and water intravenously (IV), which means they are injected directly into the patient’s veins through a needle. IV fluid is not pure water, but is instead an isotonic saline solution (water containing NaCl). What do you suppose would happen to the blood if pure water was used as IV fluid instead of saline solution?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

It would be a terrible idea to give pure water instead of saline solution. Pure water lacks any naturally occuring minerals or solute so when it is injected in your veins, this causes your blood cells to become hypotonic (essentially water enters your RBC via osmosis as your RBC will have higher solute concentration) which usually results in hemolysis (rupture of RBC) and can be fatal.