What is the Effect of an Intravenous Infusion of Pure

Question

What is the effect of an intravenous infusion of pure water?
A) It is the same response as to the infusion of isotonic saline.
B) It is the same response as to the infusion of Ringer's solution.
C) The RBCs burst.
D) The RBCs shrink (crenation).

Accepted Answer

Infusing pure water intravenously causes the water to move into red blood cells (RBCs) due to osmosis, leading to their swelling and eventual bursting (hemolysis), as the intracellular environment becomes hypotonic compared to the pure water.