Several years ago, a woman died in a radio contest called “Hold your Wee for a W
ID: 90862 • Letter: S
Question
Several years ago, a woman died in a radio contest called “Hold your Wee for a Wii” where she tried to drink more water than any other contestant in order to win a video game console. She consumed massive amounts of water, developed severe headaches, seizures, coma and died within 24 hours. The coroner’s office determined her cause of death was water intoxication. What happened?
a) her blood was hypertonic and her brain cells became swollen
b)her blood was hypertonic and her brain cells shrank
c) her blood was hypotonic and her brain cells became swollen
d) her blood was hypotonic and her brain cells shrank
Explanation / Answer
Answer: Option C. her blood was hypotonic and her brain cells became swollen
As the amount of water increases in the body (and consecutively, blood), the concentration of water increases amd the concentration of the solutes (such as RBC and plasma) decreases. The blood becomes hypotonic.
As the brain now has more solute concentration than the blood, the cerebro-spinal fluid becomes more diluted to maintain the osmotic pressure.
The CSF surrounding the brain cells is now diluted compared to the cells, as the cells take in the water and swell to maintain the osmotic pressure.
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