CELL PERMEABILITY Application

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Definition of terms
Osmosis: movement of water molecules through a selectively permeable
membrane
Case 1: Bryan, 15 y.o. male is performing an experiment about red blood
cell tonicity. He was instructed by his preceptor to put 2% NaCl in the RBC
suspension. What do you think will happen in the RBCs, will it crenate or
hemolyse? Why?

Osmotic pressure (OP): pressure exerted by impermeable solutes, the

Case 2: Hannah, 11 y.o. presents with cough, fever, and palpitation. Upon
higher the solute conc. the higher OP
physical examination she seems dehydrated, with sunken eyes. The
attending physician ordered D5W. What tonicity of IV fluid did the doctor
Tonicity: measure of the solution’s ability to change the volume of cells by
give to maintain her intravascular volume? Isotonic, Hypotonic,
altering their water content
Hypertonic? And what would be the expected blood picture of RBCs?
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ISOTONIC SOLUTION -Wyne Brent M. Corpuz, RMT,

-SAME salt concentration as the normal cells of ASCPi
the body and the blood
-EQUAL osmotic pressure

 0.9% NaCl (PNSS)

 Ringers Lactate
 D5W
PNSS – normal physiologic saline solution

HYPOTONIC SOLUTION
-LOWER osmotic pressure than that of a body
fluid
-Water movement INto a cell

-Leads to swOllen, bOrsting (hemOlysis)

 Pure water
 0.45% NaCl

HYPERTONIC SOLUTION
-HIGHER osmotic pressure than that of a body
fluid
-Water movement OUT of the cell

-Leads to shRink, cRenation