clinical application

It is determined that a patient is in acidosis. What does this mean, what is the normal pH range for the human body, and would you treat the condition with a chemical that would raise or lower the pH?

Acidosis means blood pH is below the normal range. Normal pH range is 7.35 to 7.45. The patient should be treated with something to raise the pH

In a hospital, a nurse gave a patient recovering from surgery a transfusion of 5% salt solution by mistake instead of a transfusion of physiological saline (0.9% salt). The patient quickly went into shock and soon after died. What caused the patient to enter into a state of shock and die? Be sure to comment on what functions where disrupted to cause death.

The increase of solute concentration in the blood stream, it became hypertonic to the RBCs.The RBCs dehydrated and shrank-crenantion. The crenated RBCs lost their oxygen-carrying capacity and the bloody tissue were deprived of oxygen they have no support in life.

Blood Pressure drops when a person goes from a lying to standing position. In order to correct the decreased drop in blood pressure the body uses mechanisms to increase blood pressure. Do these mechanisms use positive or negative feedback processes? Describe how the body responds to correct this situation.

This example is due to negative feedback. The initial change in the ( decrease blood pressure) is corrected by the response ( increase blood pressure) which reverses the change. when you stand up gravity cause the blood to settle in the lower part of your body blood pressure receptors know as baroreceptors ( sensors) detect the change in blood pressure. Baroreceptors are sensory neurons in the arctic arch and the carotid sinuses that measure the degree of stretch in the vessel walls. information is then sent to the medulla oblongata (control center) analyzes the change in blood pressure and send nerves impulses to the effecters to increase blood pressure and reverse the change. heart rate and amount of blood pumped are increased causing an increase in blood pressure vasoconstriction of the arterioles causes and increase in blood pressure thus if bp is too high or too low a reflex change in cardiac output is initiated in order to correct it.

You over hear a group of teenagers betting each other as to who could drink the most water within a 30 minute time span. Being the excellent medical student that you are you interrupt them and explain the dangers of drinking seemingly harmless liquid (water) in such a short period of time. What is your explanation?

drinking to much water is hypotonic to the cells in your body. taking in to much water in a short about of time can cause the blood to eventually the interstitial fluid to become hypotonic to the body cells. The extracellular fluid water will then move by osmosis into the body cells and cause them to rupture. This could kill you

How can the rapid breakdown of fat result in a dangerous decrease in blood pH?

hydrolysis of triglycerides release glycerol and free fatty acids into the blood the liver converts these into ketone bodies which circulate through the blood and used as an energy source. ketone bodies include acetonacetic acid, b-hydroxybutryic, and acetone. a rapid breakdown of the fat, as may occur during low carbohydrates diets and in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, can result in elevated levels of ketone bodies in the blood-a condition called ketosis. if ketone bodies lower the blood ph, the condition is called ketoacidosis. serve ketoacidosis, which may occur in diabetes mellitus. you can have a sweet smelling breath due to acetone.

One remedy for constipation is a saline laxative such as Epsom salts (MgSO4). Why do such salts have a laxative effect?

increases the solute concentration in the lumen of the large intestine making the intensive hypertonic to surrounding tissues.The osmosis of water occurs from the surrounding tissue into the intestinal lumen. The fluid helps soften the stool and the watery environment prepares the intestine for bowel movement.

Your friend tells you that he is taking the antibiotic streptomycin for an infection. He wants to know how this particular antibiotic can kill bacterial cells but not kill his own cells. What is your explanation?

streptomycin inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by interfering with ribosomal functions of the bacteria and has no effect on the ribsomes found in humans. If the bacterial are unable to synthesize new protein, they will die.