Question

Sterile normal saline is used in most surgical procedures as an irrigation solution. During certain surgical procedures, such as those for malignancy, the surgeon may request that sterile water be used for irrigation instead of saline following excision of the cancerous mass. 1. What is meant by "normal" saline? 2. Why is normal saline usually used in healthy tissues? 3. How is water different from saline? 4. What reaction will occur between the eukaryotic cells of the body and the water?

Answer 1

1. Normal saline is crystalloid isotonic solution for volume expansion . It is used for IV lines , volume replacement and IV medication administration .

2. Normal saline is mostly used in healthy tissues because it is isotonic . Its salt concentration is similar to tears, blood and other body fluids (0.9% saline)

3. Water is different from saline as Water is hypotonic, meaning the concentration of dissolved solutes is less than that of your body fluids and cells. The effect an infusion of water would be to cause water movement out of circulation and into your cells,that's why we use 0.9% saline solution instead of distilled water

4. The reaction that will occur between the eukaryotic cells of the body and water is water will move out of circulation into the cells and cells will swell up .