11) A patient has had a serious accident and lost a lot of blood. In an attempt to replenish body fluids, distilled water, equal to the volume of blood lost, is transferred directly into one of his veins. What will be the most probable result of this transfusion?
A) It will have no unfavorable effect as long as the water is free of viruses and bacteria.
B) The patient's red blood cells will shrivel up because the blood fluid is hypotonic compared to the cells.
C) The patient's red blood cells will swell because the blood fluid is hypotonic compared to the cells.
D) The patient's

Question

11)  A patient has had a serious accident and lost a lot of blood.  In an attempt to replenish body fluids,  distilled water, equal to the volume of blood lost, is transferred directly into one of his veins.  What will be the most probable result of this transfusion? 
A) It will have no unfavorable effect as long as the water is free of viruses and bacteria. 
B) The patient's red blood cells will shrivel up because the blood fluid is hypotonic compared to the cells. 
C) The patient's red blood cells will swell because the blood fluid is hypotonic compared to the cells. 
D) The patient's

alphadxg · Answer

The addition of distilled water containing little to no solutes will make the fluid portion of the blood hypotonic to the red blood cells.  Water will flow into these cells causing it to swell.  If red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic environment where the solute concentration outside the cell is sufficiently low, these cells may burst.  Red blood cells in a hypertonic solution will shrivel.

So the answer would be C