Question

Q10: Given what you read in the introduction about the medical application of dialysis tubing (filtering a patient's blood), what conclusion(s) could you draw about the size of the metabolic waste molecules leaving the blood? What about molecules such as sugars and minerals that remain in the blood? What can you infer about the concentration of these solutes in the patient's blood vs. the dialysis fluid? Q11: If the dialysis tubing were bathed in only diH 0 (no solutes), what do you think would be the consequence for the patient's blood?

Answer 1

Answer:

Dialysis tubing is a semi permeable membrane. It separates dissolved substances of different molecular sizes in a solution. Tube is made up of cellulose fibres/synthetic polymers.

The thin membrane separates blood and dialysate. Blood cells, proteins etc remain in blood. They have larger particle size.

Smaller molecules such as urea, creatinine, potassium and extra water is washed off.

Extra sugar dextrose help to get extra water from blood. But if patients blood is more hyperglycemia, dextrose will enter blood and add to hyperglycemia.

Minerals like potassium, calcium and magnesium will be in lower concentration in dialysate than blood. So if they are in excess in blood, they diffuse into dialysate.

When comparing blood with dialysis fluid.

Sodium and chloride will be almost same concentration as that of normal blood. If they are more in blood, it will diffuse into dialysate.

Magnesium, potassium and calcium will be little lower than normal blood. As its important to remove if they are in excess in blood. Glucose and bicarbonate will be little higher. Also bicarbonate is also there in dialysis to solve acid base balance in blood. Ph will be be 7.1 to 7.3.

If there was no solvents in dialysis fluid, and with water alone. This will increase water content of blood. Which in turn increasing oedema. Also minerals will get out into fluid. And this may result in death. Patients blood becomes hypotonic.