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Ian Borchers Bio201 Case Study #1 Lecture TTh 130-245p Lab W 300-550p Water Can Kill? Exploring Effects of Osmosis Part I – Three True Stories Questions 1. What sort of environment (hypertonic, isotonic, hypotonic) does consuming excessive amounts of pure water create in the body fluid that surrounds your cells? What effect would this have on your cells? - A hypotonic environment would be created in the body fluid, as there would be a lower concentration of solutes outside of the cell than inside the cell. This would create the effect of water entering the cells at an abnormal rate, and the cells, eventually, would burst. 2. What types of symptoms did Jennifer, Cassandra, and James have in common? Which organ or tissue seems to …show more content…

Part II – Facts about Hyponatremia Questions 1. During periods of intense activity, your body releases an antidiuretic hormone called ADH or vasopressin that causes the body to retain water (by decreasing the amount of water that is expelled in urine). Why does this make endurance athletes particularly vulnerable to developing hyponatremia? - Endurance athletes are particularly vulnerable because over the extended period of time they are not taking in salt, only water. This creates the hypotonic environment outside the cells because of the salt concentration differential. 2. What might put desert-dwellers in danger of developing hyponatremia? How can they avoid this danger? - Desert dwellers could potentially continue drinking water without ingesting enough sodium to keep the fluid around cells isotonic. Eating food with plenty of sodium or by adding salt to food so as to retain water. 3. Babies and small children are at much greater risk for developing hyponatremia than adults. Why is this? - This is because they have less cells in general, and their bodies aren't able to take as much damage. 4. Just how much brain swelling are we talking about? The volume of a human brain is normally about 1,200cm3. The concentration of solutes in the cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that surrounds the brain and other parts of the central nervous system) is normally about 300mM. a. Normally, what is the concentration of solutes

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