In the field of medicine, concepts like tonicity and osmosis are important to consider when administering intravenous (IV) saline/fluids to patients. Doctors have the choice of administering IV saline/fluid solutions that are isotonic, hypertonic, or hypotonic. Depending on the symptoms a patient presents with, this can influence the type of IV saline solution doctors administer to patients.
A doctor observes that a patient in the emergency department is presenting with severe leg swelling, also called edema. Edema, or swelling in tissues, occurs when water moves out of veins and into the surrounding tissues. This causes the affected part of the body to become abnormally swollen and bloated due to excess fluid retention. Given this information and your knowledge of biology, what type of IV fluid would a doctor likely administer to this patient to correct the edema in their leg? Select only ONE answer choice.
Hypertonic saline
Hypotonic saline
Isotonic saline
Any of these solutions will work
None of the above will solve this issue.