Intravenous (IV) solutions administered to patients are normally isotonic. Which of the following is most likely if an IV of distilled water is administered to a patient?

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When distilled water (a hypotonic solution) is administered, the cells will swell. Water will move from the blood into the cell in order to reach an equilibrium concentration.

Salt typically does not diffuse through the cell membrane.

It is possible that the body tries to maintain homeostasis by secreting salt, but this would be a stretch. Watch out for these answer choices - you do not need to know the specific functions of each organ.

The amount of water increases, but blood cells remain the same.