When Large Amounts of Pure Water are Consumed, Which of the Following

Question

When large amounts of pure water are consumed, which of the following will be true?
A) The volume of the ICF decreases.
B) The volume of the ECF decreases.
C) A fluid shift occurs and the volume of the ICF decreases.
D) Osmolalities of the two compartments are slightly lower.
E) The ECF becomes hypertonic to the ICF.

Accepted Answer

When large amounts of pure water are consumed, the osmolalities of both the intracellular fluid (ICF) and extracellular fluid (ECF) compartments decrease slightly because the water dilutes the solutes in both compartments, making them less concentrated.